Indian Railways Reported Zero Deaths This Fiscal For First Time In 166 Years

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal On Wednesday, December 25, in a tweet informed that for the first time in 166 years zero passenger deaths were reported in the current financial year, 2019-20.

Safety First: First time in 166 years, Indian Railways had zero passenger deaths in the current financial year.https://t.co/9tgqKSo9js

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 25, 2019

Indian Railways marked the financial year 2019-2020 as the safest in 166 years so far. The department reported only 59 accidents throughout FY19 without any casualties. Earlier in April this year, Indian Railways registered 2018-2019 as its safest year.

"In its 166-year-long history, Indian Railways has reported financial year 2018-19 as its safest year. The national transporter saw zero passenger deaths in the last fiscal, marking a big achievement for it on the safety front."
https://t.co/5UrmxyfZKO via @BT_India

— Amit Paranjape (@aparanjape) December 24, 2019

“The number of consequential accidents, including collisions, level crossing accidents, fire in trains, derailment and miscellaneous, has reduced from 1130 in 1980-81 to 59 in 2018-19, resulting in 94.8% reduction”, a report of The Financial Express revealed.

As per the national transporter’s data, the number of fatalities have reduced to 37 in 2018-19 from 658 in 1981-82, with a total of 94.4 per cent reduction. The injury figures also decreased to 108 in 2018-19 from 1144 from 1981-82, with a total decrease of 90.6 per cent.

Goyal-led Indian Railways has mentioned time and again about safety being its topmost priority. This year, the transporter witnessed zero passenger deaths, with the consequential accidents reducing to nearly 95 per cent in the last 38 years.

Implementing the necessary measures on the safety front, the department has managed to mark the zero report of deaths as its greatest achievement.

In line with PM @NarendraModi ji's vision of making Railways the growth engine of India’s vikas yatra, Govt. approves the organisational restructuring of Railways.

This transformational reform will end departmentalism and ensure efficient functioning #UnifiedRailways pic.twitter.com/jJMQgKFtvm

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) December 24, 2019

Reportedly, Indian Railways witnessed immense growth in the initial phase of the Modi Government, displaying the best performance in fields of rail safety and modernisation. The Interim Budget of 2019 gave the railways the highest allocation of ₹1,58,658 crore, surpassing last year’s allocation of ₹1,48,528 crore.

Also Read: Indian Railways To Become World’s First ‘Net-Zero’ Carbon Emitter By 2030: Piyush Goyal