Research on to make fracture -free rails: MoS Manoj Sinha

BAREILY: Minister of state for railways and communications Manoj Sinha said here on Saturday that rail fractures are the main cause behind train accidents. He said the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has been asked if it can construct rails which do not fracture and research to the effect is underway.
Sinha was in Bareilly for inspection of Delhi-Bareilly section of Northern Railway and Bareilly-Badaun section of North Eastern Railway and inspection of en-route stations.
Asked about the steps taken to minimise railway accidents after Kanpur tragedy in which more than 100 passengers died, Sinha said, “Though we conduct regular maintenance, the problem arises during the variation of temperature between day and night, especially in the month of October-November. The difference in temperature causes rail fracture. We have asked RDSO if it can make rails which do not get fractured. Research on this is going on.”
The minister added, “Rail employees and engineers conduct regular patrolling and inspection through ultrasonic rays of the routes. But at times, minor faults are responsible for big tragedies.”
Sinha said routes will now be blocked regularly for maintenance. “It becomes difficult to block routes for maintenance considering continuous heavy flow of trains. After the rail tragedy in Kanpur, it has become our priority to block routes and stop trains for maintenance. We will create awareness among public that if trains are stopped for some time for maintenance, it is for the safety of passengers and they should tolerate the inconvenience caused due to this.”
Asked about the reason that led to the Kanpur tragedy, MoS for railways said that an inquiry is underway and he will comment on it only after getting the probe report.
Commenting on the Bareilly-Badaun route where train service has been stopped due to ongoing work, Sinha said it will end by December and will opened after Commission of Railway Safety Inspection.