Going by the statistical records of rail accidents in the last five months, the number of accidents may top the 200-mark, this year. The number of deaths in a rail accident dished out by the department is rarely accurate. The practice is a legacy of the past, since the Raj days, as it involves the payment of compensation to the next of kin by the railways. The list of missing persons often overshadows the number of dead. The government has paid little attention to these matters.

An independent review of the functioning of the railways in recent months will show that the entire ministry or the department, as it is officially described, is on auto-pilot. The all-powerful railway minister spends much more time on party politics in her home state and on making public appearances to flag off petty projects than at the departmental headquarters at New Delhi's Rail Bhavan. Although the Railway Board functions like a corporate executive management board with a full-time chairman, it reports to the railway minister. The latter is ultimately responsible for the operation of the railways and answerable to the union cabinet and Parliament. The railway minister's is a full-time job. Any cabinet minister's is. He or she is paid for that by the exchequer. Office hours and office facilities can't be utilized to run private agenda, political or otherwise, and however novel it may be. Unfortunately, no one in the cabinet, not even the prime minister, has guts to remind the railway minister the need for balancing the two acts of her public life - first and foremost as a full-time minister and, then, a state political party leader trying to score over the Left opposition to gain political power through the process of elections. The UPA cabinet is to be equally blamed for not being able to take the minister, the leader of the second largest coalition partner, to task for not giving enough time to the appointed job. For a politician, the creation and expansion of political support base among the public is extremely important. But, that can't be or shouldn't at the cost of official commitment to the nation as a serving minister.

The government may be aware that the railways is not like any other department. At least, the central intelligence agency (CIA) of the United States, the economic wing of which undertook a detailed study in 2007 of the operations of the Indian Railways along with the railway networks of some other leading countries for strategic reasons, attach high importance to the body for India's economic growth, internal stability and defence capability in times of emergency. A few notes and comparisons from CIA's fact sheet will show that Indian Railways constitute one of the country's biggest and most important national assets. And, that makes this strategic asset automatically vulnerable to both internal and external attacks with a clear intention to destabilize the country and its administration. The spate of successful attacks on the railways by Maoists in recent months bears the testimony although the railway minister and the UPA government may differ on this. Last month's Maoist attack on Howrah-Mumbai Gnyaneshwari Express, a train recently flagged off by her, in which at least 150 persons were killed and several hundreds injured, became prime-time news in all global television new channels. This type of news only boosts the morale of terrorists to undertake more such attacks in support of their cause or political philosophy, if any.

Some of the vital statistics of Indian Railways as listed in the CIA's records show the railways have over 64,000 route kms. They include over 17,000 kms electrified and 13,000 km double-track. Over 40,000 kms are broad-gauge and nearly 19,000 kms of narrow guage. The system carries nearly two million passengers per day through a fleet of some 7,000 trains from over 7,000 railway stations and 'halts' across the country. It also runs a fleet of over 4,000 goods trains carring vital industrial raw materials and finished goods, employing over 210,000 wagons. The railways carry two million tonnes of cargo per day. Freight accounts for about 70 per cent of the railways' revenue and most of its annual profit. The railways own over 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locos. Interestingly, there had never been a systematic valuation exercise of total assets held by Indian Railways, tangible and intangible, done by engaging an external agency. Valuation of rolling stocks is conducted routinely, though. Having some 1.6 million employees on its roll, it is one of the world's largest employers. There is some misconception about Indian Railways' global ranking. In CIA's records, in terms of the length of the railway track, the US, Russia, Canada and China are placed ahead of India. Germany comes next to India. This could also be because of the geographical size of these countries. In terms of number of passengers carried per km, India ranks third after Japan and China, possibly because of population density.

The railways runs a quasi-police force to protect its assets. However, the railway protection force (RPF) is neither well manned, nor well trained and equipped to meet the growing security threat to rail operations. The force lacks strong leadership and direction as it receives little attention from the railways' top brass. At operative level, its men are often corrupt and, indirectly, pose a threat to the organization itself and to its reputation. The railway minister may disagree, the passenger safety and security within the rail premises can't be a primary concern of any state police. The railways alone can and must protect its assets and the safety of passengers and cargoes. The police from states, through the geographical limits of which the railways conduct operation, and central police and paramilitary forces may offer their assistance to the rail police from time to time on specific demand. However, it is the primary responsibility of the railways to ensure its operational safety, including the safety of passengers, by drawing and executing a proper 'business continuity plan'. Under any circumstances, a strategic asset as large and as widely distributed as that of the railways can't be left unguarded and uncared for by the government or at the whim-whams of a capricious minister. Such an act would be seen by the country as a criminal negligence by the authorities and highly detrimental to the national interest. (IPA Service)