Although accidents in general have fallen over 10 years, from 194 in 2007-08 to 104 in 2016-17, derailments have risen over this period, an indication that trains are increasingly at peril. The first six months of 2017 reported 29 train accidents, of which 20 were due to derailments, killing 39 people and injuring 54, according to this reply to the Lok Sabha, parliament’s lower house, on July 19, 2017. Over the last decade to 2016-17, 1,394 train accidents were reported in India; 51% or 708 were due to derailments in which 458 people were killed. One of the cause for derailments is the lag in addressing what are technically called “defects in the track or rolling stock”. However, of 5,000 km track length due for renewal currently, no more than 2700 km, or 54%, would be renewed, it said.

Source: Hindustan Times September 15, 2017 04:07 UTC