Train derailment tornado hits Ashwini Vaishnaw in face
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Mumbai-Howrah Express derails in Jharkhand amid train mishap spree
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, July 30: The Mumbai-Howrah Express derailed in Jharkhand in the wee hours of Tuesday. At least two passengers are reported to have died, while several others are injured.
Local reports said that all the coaches of the ill-fated train derailed. The Railways has not yet stated reason for the derailment. A goods train nearby had also derailed.
The Mumbai-bound train derailed at about 3.45 AM when passengers were asleep. Th Railways unofficially shared with the media persons that two passengers died, while one sustained bone fracture, and four others were being treated for simple injuries.
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The Jharkhand train mishap is yet another case of derailment of trains in the last 45 days. Beginning with the Darjeeling mishap when a goods train had hit from behind a passenger train, there is a spree of accidents involving trains.
Alarmingly, the ill-fated Howrah-Mumbai Express consisted of the LHB Coaches. The Railways has a plan to replace all the ICF (old) coaches with the LHB coaches. The LHB coaches are said to be less prone to derail and also mount against each other in the event of a mishap.
Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw appears to have an horrendous start at the helm of the national transporter. Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram said on the day the Budget was unveiled that one case of derailment on an average is being reported in the country.
“The lack of seriousness about the Railways could be seen in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioning just ‘rail-road’ in her Budget speech,” Chidambaram said. He added that the Congress will insist for a separate discussion on the rail safety either during the demands for grants debate or with a short notice discussion in parliament.
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A day after the unveiling of the Union Budget, Vaishnaw was on a marathon press briefing with state-specific reporters. He spoke of ₹79,000 crores of rail investment works underway in Bihar.
Viashnaw belted out figures, which if added, would have surpassed the total budget allocation of ₹1.62 lakh crore for the Railways. “Record work is being done in the Railways which had not been done in the last 60 years,” said Vaishnaw.
However, he looked nervous to any question that probed achievements of his government. One probing question came his way during the day-long briefing. “If record investments are being done, then why are accidents taking place, and why do the people of Bihar have to travel from Delhi in buses while going to their homes.”
“The Railways transported 700 crore passengers last year. The kind of work that should have been done in the last 60 are being done now,” said Vashnaw as he once more belted out comparative figures of 10-year UPA and 10-year Modi governments.
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