Railway orders 15-day intensive safety drive
Andhra Pradesh that killed at least 14 people, the Railway Board has issued directions to all zones to conduct an intensive two-week safety dive from October 31. «Recent cases of SPADs (signal passed at danger) and accidents call for a resolve to strengthen alertness and enforcement of laid down practices and protocols in train operations,» the board said in a letter sent to the general managers of all railway zones on October 30.
«Towards this, an Intensive Safety Drive of 2 weeks is to be launched immediately from 31-10-2023 to 14-11-2023, involving officers at all levels,» the letter, accessed by PTI, added.
The board has listed 23 safety aspects and directed the zonal railways to emphasise these during the drive.
It says that the officers and loco inspectors should randomly travel in the engine, especially at night, to see if safety norms are obeyed by the crew.
It has further said that loco inspectors should check physically as well as with the monitoring of the Crew Voice and Video Recording System (CVVRS) whether the crew — loco pilot (LP) and assistant loco pilot (ALP) — are calling out all signals loudly and clearly to each other (one of the crucial operation safety norms).
The loco inspectors are also asked to see whether the crew is using mobile phones while driving the train as the use of mobile phones is strictly prohibited for the drivers while the train is in operation.
The board wants the crew to be specifically monitored for their ability to handle the train at the yellow signal and in gradients so that they can stop promptly at red signals.
«The letter has asked loco inspectors to see how the crew controls the train in an automatic block system in which signals automatically work by the passage of
