Dinesh Mohan Transportation Research & Injury Prevention Programme Indian Institute of technology Delhi Emerging Dimensions of Railway Safety

The present situation Accidents Factors beyond Railways control Accidents equipment failure Accidents railway staff failure OtherTotal Source : Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 544, dated Train Accidents on Indian Railways in India ( to ) YearCollisions Derail- ments Level crossing accidents Fire in trains Misc. accidents Total , , Source : Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India. IIT Delhi August 15 Good news, in time and technology management!

IIT Delhi August 15 Nature of Accident KilledInjured Passengers In Train Accidents, Failures of Railway Equipment and Misc. Accidents84279 In Unusual Occurrences- Movement of Exclusive of Train Accidents etc In Unusual Occurrences on Railway Premises not Connected With the Movement of Railway Vehicles-- Railway Employees In Train Accidents, Failures of Railway Equipment and Misc. Accidents328 In Unusual Occurrences Caused by Movement of Railway Vehicles Exclusive of Train Accidents etc In Unusual Occurrences on Railway Premises not Connected With the Movement of Railway Vehicles24838 Other Persons 2,7482,217 In Train Accidents, Failures of Railway Equipment and Misc. Accidents In Unusual Occurrences Caused by Movement of Railway Vehicles Exclusive of Train Accidents etc In Unusual Occurrences on Railway Premises not Connected With the Movement of Railway Vehicles-- Total2,9633,833 Number of Persons Killed and Injured According to Nature of Railways Accidents in India Source : Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Govt. of India

IIT Delhi August 15 AGETOTAL >60 Rail-road accidents ,276 Other railway accidents3274,5767,0584,2201,96218,143 TOTAL3975,2297,8574,7672,16920,419 FATALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIAN RAILWAYS Source: National Crime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry of Statistics Total fatalities: 2,963 ??

IIT Delhi August 15 FATALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIAN RAILWAYS Ministry of Home Affairs 20, ,963 Ministry of Statistics = 17,456 Not investigated since they are not “consequential” Possible disabled ~ 40,000 – 60,000 Serious injury ~ 200,000 Emerging Dimensions of Railway Safety ??? If we reduced “consequential” accidents by 100% we would still have > 17,000 Indians dead annually

 Indian constitution guarantees the right to life to all its citizens irrespective of “fault”  Mobility and safety is therefore a fundamental right of any modern citizen  It is the responsibility of institutions to resolve any conflicts between the goals of mobility and safety within their domain of operation  It is crucial for all stakeholders to consider the needs of the most vulnerable  There is a collective responsibility for preventing injuries and deaths due to any cause irrespective of the fault of a railway employee or technology IIT Delhi August 15 Modern society, railway safety, and rights of citizens

IIT Delhi August 15 The Zero Vision October 1997, Road Traffic Safety Bill, Swedish Parliament  “The scientific basis of the zero vision differs from the usual approach to safety in human-machine systems: designing a system to minimize the number of events that cause injury. Instead, the zero vision is based on the notion of "allowing" these incidents to occur, but at a level of violence that does not threaten life or long-term health”  “In the zero vision, the entire transport system must be designed to accommodate the individual who has the worst protection and the lowest tolerance of violence. No event must be allowed to generate a level of violence that is so high that it represents an unacceptable loss of health for that vulnerable individual.”  “The responsibility for every death or loss of health in the road transport system rests with the person responsible for the design of that system. This is the ethical basis for realizing the zero vision.”

IIT Delhi August 15 Safety management: complex and multi- disciplinary Source: Safety Principles and Guidance, Office of Rail Regulation, UK.

IIT Delhi August 15 Safety management: complex and multidisciplinary Source: Claire Dickinson. CROSS-CUTTING TOPIC STRATEGY: HUMAN FACTORS to Office of Rail Regulation, UK.

IIT Delhi 2005

IIT Delhi 2007 Results The burnt coach Godhra Coach Comparison coach

IIT Delhi 2007 Damage mapping of the coach

IIT Delhi 2007 Injuries  No serious burn injuries among survivors. Therefore, most escaped before fire serious  All burn injuries on upper part of body  Majority inhalation injuries  No one burnt on lower part of body  All fatal cases (58) completely charred. Fatalities among those who fell unconscious and could not escape

IIT Delhi 2006 Probable escape routes

IIT Delhi August 15 Emerging issues  Expertise needed: - Mechanical engineering - Injury epidemiology - Polymer chemistry & materials - Thermodynamics and fire - Forensic science - Crowd mechanics - etc.  Carriage design  Emergency response  Preservation of evidence  Institutional arrangements for safety research

Institutional arrangements IIT Delhi August 15 Need for establishment of -National Railway Safety Research Institute (NRSRI) – multidisciplinary, at least 50% staff permanent with research qualifications -Endowed chairs in research institutions for independent basic and futuristic research on railway safety in coordination with NRSRI

National Railway Safety Research Institute (NRSRI) IIT Delhi August 15  Must be independent of investigation and standards enforcement agencies  Safety research – institutional linkages and training  Laws, operations and management  Capacity Building  User behaviour strategies, public awareness education, conferences/workshops  Designing, setting standards and conducting audits

Finally  Blaming the victim or one employee is the most common response to an accident. This cannot result in optimal or scientific solutions  Multidisciplinary / multifactorial approach essential for safety promotion  Everyone has the right to information about safety problems and the level of safety of any component, product, action or service within the rail transport system  Everyone has the right to expect systematic and continuous improvement in safety: any stakeholder within the rail transport system has the obligation to undertake corrective actions following the detection of any safety hazard that can be reduced or removed IIT Delhi August 15