Just a week after the engine and power car of Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Minto Bridge last Thursday, now a coach of Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express met a similar fate at the New Delhi Railway station today.

The derailment of a coach of Jammu Tawi Rajdhani Express comes on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe inaugurated the over Rs 1 lakh crore high-speed bullet train project in Ahmedabad.

Last week also saw seven coaches of the Jabalpur-bound Shaktipunj Express going off the tracks in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh.

Following the Kalinga-Utkal Express derailment last month in which at least 24 people were killed and another 100 passengers were injured, questions were raised on alleged negligence on the part of Railway officials which led to the fatal accident.

Two days after the Kalinga-Utkal Express accident, nine bogies of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district, leaving more than 70 passengers injured.

The subsequent backlash forced then Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu to take moral responsibility for the rail accidents in Uttar Pradesh and he offered to resign from the position.

THE SPATE OF TRAIN DERAILMENTS CONTINUES

In the Cabinet reshuffle this month, Piyush Goyal was entrusted with the Railways Ministry. Yet, the spate of derailments continues.

The trend shows that the answer to check the increasing number of rail accidents lies possibly not in changing ministers but in getting railway safety and modernisation back on track.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures for 2015, 859 railway accidents took place due to mechanical defects such as poor design and track faults.

A task force on safety, which was set up after the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Pukhrayan in Kanpur last November and killed over 150 people, found that rail fracture and inadequate maintenance are often the cause of mishaps.

The report, which was drafted by senior railway officials, called for technology upgrade for maintenance, and said that "rails is a complex exercise and must be automated as much as possible to reduce dependence on human judgement".'

OVER-WORKED TRACKS, UNDER INVESTMENT TO BLAME

An earlier India Today report said that over-worked tracks and inadequate maintenance are one of the main reasons for rail accidents in India. Majority of the rail tracks have been used beyond their capacity, and some of the most fatal accidents in recent years, including the Indore-Patna Express derailment , took place on such railway sections.

A Standing Committee report on Railways' safety and security in December last year identified under-investment in Railways as one of the reasons for more rail accidents. The report stated that while passenger and freight traffic has increased by 1,344 per cent and 1,642 per cent respectively from 1950 to 2016, the Railways' route kilometres have increased by a mere 23 per cent.

The Standing Committee report also observed that the modern Linke-Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches do not witness higher casualties in case of derailment as the coaches do not pile on each other, and recommended that the Indian Railways completely switches to LHB coaches.

The Kalinga Utkal Express was running with the old-style coaches and not not the LHB-variety coaches. As the train derailed, some of the its coaches piled on each other, killing many passengers on the spot.

IMPROVING PASSENGER SAFETY, TRAINING RAIL STAFF

While raising red-flags for the Railways, the Standing Committee on Railways also offered ways to improve passenger safety. The committee suggested that a separate department be tasked to look after passenger safety and security.

"The Ministry of Railways should appoint a Member (safety) to provide dedicated focus to railway safety operations," the report noted.

Regular training of railway staff on standard protocols and measures as well as new technology features can also improve passenger safety, given that failure of railway staff causes many accidents.

"The course can cover case studies of accidents due to common errors, pattern of working, modernisation and technology upgradation," the Standing Committee on Railways report said.

ALSO WATCH: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu offers to quit over train accidents

Jammu Rajdhani Express derails: It's not about changing ministers but getting passenger safety on track

Railways has got a new minister but the problem of passenger safety continues to be an issue.