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As many as 21,803 people were killed in 24,678 railway accidents in the country in 2023 with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh reporting the highest fatalities, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau.
In 2023, among all railway accidents, there were 56 cases due to fault of driver while 43 train accidents took place due to mechanical defects like poor design, track faults, bridge or tunnel collapse.
The analysis of classification of railway accidents revealed that incidents of ‘fall from trains or collision with people at track’ constituted majority of railway accidents (74.9 percent) (18,480 out of 24,678) while a total of 15,878 people died due to either ‘fall from trains or collision of trains with people at tracks’, accounting for 72.8 percent of total deaths in railway accidents, the NCRB report said.
Interestingly , amidst the fatal train accidents the Maharashtra government is upbeat with the proposed The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is a 508-km high-speed rail corridor being built with Japanese Shinkansen technology to connect India’s financial hub, Mumbai, with the industrial city of Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. The line, designed for speeds up to 320 km/h, is under construction with key sections and stations being developed, and is expected to be fully operational by 2029.
Maharashtra has reported the majority of such cases, accounting for 29.8 percent (5,507 cases) of total cases of ‘fall from train or collision of trains with people at track’.
A total of 24,678 cases of railway accidents were reported, showing an increase of 6.7 percent during 2023 over 2022 (23,139). The railways accidents caused injuries to 3,014 people and 21,803 deaths in 2023, the NCRB report said.
Maximum railway accidents were reported in Maharashtra accounting for 22.5 percent (5,559 cases) followed by Uttar Pradesh (13 percent, 3,212 cases).
