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Railways gives top priority to the safety of passengers. This is the reason why there has been a steady decline in train accidents. The figures presented by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in Rajya Sabha today are really commendable for Indian Railways.
New Delhi. Railways gives top priority to the safety of passengers. This is the reason why there has been a steady decline in train accidents. The figures presented by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in Rajya Sabha today are really commendable for Indian Railways. According to statistics, in the decade 2004-14, there were an average of 171 major accidents every year. Whereas in 2025-26, so far (till November) there have been only 11 accidents. That means there has been a reduction of more than 15-16 times.
The Railway Minister said that there were 135 train accidents in 2014-15, which reduced to only 31 in 2024-25. And the good thing is that there have been 11 in the current financial year. This decline in figures is the result of three times the expenditure on security and technological changes. The security budget in 2013-14 was only Rs 39,463 crore, which has now increased to Rs 1,16,470 crore in 2025-26.
The Railway Minister said that fog safety devices were only 90 in 2014, which will increase to 25,939 in 2025. In the last four months alone, the work of centralized electronic interlocking and automatic track circuits has been completed at 21 stations each. Indigenous anti-collision systems like Kavach are also being installed rapidly.
Action is happening continuously
In every incident of track tampering, the state police and GRP register a case, the culprits are caught and the case is prosecuted. RPF, GRP and Civil Police are continuously patrolling the sensitive areas. Operations are underway to remove material lying near the track. People are being made aware that no mischievous elements should keep stones or items. State level security committee meetings are held in every state, where intelligence information is shared. The clear message of the Railway Minister is ‘passenger safety is our top priority’.
Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and signals have been installed at 6,656 stations by 31 October 2025 to reduce accidents due to human failure. To increase security at level crossing (LC) gates, interlocking arrangements have been made at 10,098 level crossing gates by 31 October 2025.
