KAKODKAR COMMITTEE

The Committee had made 106 recommendations covering various aspects viz.
General Safety Matters, Organizational Structure, Empowerment at Working Level,
Safety Related Works and Issues, Filling up of vacancies in critical safety categories
and Manpower Planning Issues, Plugging the shortage of critical Safety Spares,
External Interferences Removal of Encroachment and Sabotage, Upgradation of
Signaling, Telecommunication and Train Protection System, Upgradation of Rolling
Stock, Track, Bridges, Elimination of Level Crossings, Human Resource Development
with emphasis on Education and Training Institutes on Indian Railways, Eco-system
and Safety Architectures on Indian Railways.

The Ministry of Railways had appointed a High Level Safety Review Committee
under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar to review the safety of the Indian
Railways and recommend improvements. The Committee recently presented
its report. The Committee recommends a total financial investment of Rs 1,00,000
crore over a five year period.

The Committee notes that the present environment on Indian Railways reveals a
grim picture of inadequate performance largely due to poor infrastructure and
resources, and lack of empowerment at the functional level.

The financial state of Indian Railways is at the brink of collapse unless some
concrete measures are taken. Passenger fares have not been increased in
the last decade and the infrastructure is severely strained. All safety margins
have been squeezed. This has led to a neglect of infrastructure maintenance.

In the present situation, the three vital functions (rule making, operations and
the regulation) are all vested in the Railway Board. There is need for an
independent mechanism for safety regulation. The Committee recommends
the creation of a statutory Railway Safety Authority with enough powers to
have a safety oversight on the operational mode of Railways.

The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), the apex technical
wing of the Railways, is highly constrained. This has hampered the ability of
the system to internalize emerging technologies. The Committee
recommends restructuring of RDSO for greater empowerment. It also
recommends that a Railway Research and Development Council (RRDC) be
set up directly under the government.

The Committee recommends the adoption of an Advanced Signalling System

(akin to the European Train Control System) for the entire trunk route length
of 19,000 km within 5 years. This is estimated to cost Rs 20,000 crore.

All Level Crossings (both manned and unmanned) should be eliminated over
five years. An estimated expenditure of Rs 50,000 crore will be required for
achieving this target. The Committee is of the belief that this amount will be
 recovered within 7-8 years through savings in maintenance costs and
improved train operations.

The Committee also recommends a switch over from the ICF design coaches
to the much safer LHB design coaches. This is likely to cost Rs 10,000 crore
over the next five years.

Other Committee recommendations on the maintenance of safety related

infrastructure are estimated to cost about Rs 20,000 crore.

There should be an independent body like Railway Safety Authority under the
government with chairman and experts from outside
. A robust and powerful Safety Architecture should be there have a safety
oversight on the operational mode of Railways
. Elimination of both manned and unmanned level crossings within the next
five years as a measure of avoiding accidents and deaths. Such a step would
not only eliminate the accidents at level crossings which account for 65 per
cent of total deaths due to train accidents but will also improve the line
capacity as trains get held up at busy LC gates. It will also save operation and
maintenance costs incurred in the gates.
The Panel said that if all the recommendations will be accepted there will be a
total financial implication of one lakh crore rupees in five years.
While proposing funds to the tune of Rs.50,000 crore for doing away with
level crossings, the panel has noted that apart from saving lives, the
investment could be recouped in about 8 years as the monetary saving from
a phase-out of level crossings would be in the region of Rs.7,000 crore per
annum.
Committee recommended monitoring of all the bridges in terms of scientific
measurements of deflections/displacements, water level and flow velocity on
a continuous basis and data should be communicated to the office of the
concerned Chief Bridge Engineer for monitoring. Panel notes that Railways
had classified at least 3,000 bridges to be 100 years old or more and 32
bridges as distressed structures, wanted vulnerable bridges fitted with water
level gauges and turbine flow meters to measure flow which should be
interlocked in a way to warn the driver of the approaching train
. The panel has recommended an advanced signalling system based on
continuous track circuiting and cab signalling similar to European train control
system Level-II on the entire trunk route of about 19,000 route kilometres at
an estimated cost of Rs.20,000 crore within five years
. The Kakodkar committees analysis of data for the last five years showed
that in the Indian Railway system spread across 64,000 route kilometres,
derailments accounted for nearly half the total accidents followed by
accidents at unmanned level crossing gates (36 per cent). Level crossing
incidents contributed to 59 per cent of the deaths and 42 per cent of
casualties
 The Kakodkar Committee has made a slew of recommendations of which
some of the key ones are: Stopping the practice of introduction of new trains
without commensurate inputs to the
Having a statutory Railway Safety Authority and measures to strengthen the
present Railway Safety Commission to undertake meaningful regulatory
inspections
Setting up a Railway Research and Development Council at the apex level
directly under the government. This council should have Advance Railway
Research Institute and five railway research centres for key safety-related
railway disciplines