New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) Exposing a big hole in railway safety, a high-level committee has said tracks do not match safety parameters while coaches and rail bridges are becoming increasingly unsafe. Questioning the quality of materials used to prepare steel for tracks, the committee headed by eminent nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar, has strongly recommended that the root cause of rail fracture should be explored with help from experts. Observing that most derailments were due to fracture on tracks, the panel, in its report, felt mail and express train coaches were not fit to run at speeds over 100 kmph. It favoured setting up of a national-level expert committee to come out with scientific solutions within the next three months. Besides, the committee took note of the aging rail bridges and recommended a massive investment of Rs one lakh crore for the next five years to substantially enhance safety. There are around 3000 rail bridges across the country which were not scientifically monitored, it said. The panel said the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has been unable to find a technological solution to the issue of defective tracks and no attempt has been made to trace the root cause of the shortcomings in terms of steel melting and rolling. MORE
