Divisions have been requested to extend subject inspections, particularly at susceptible areas resembling turnouts, bridges, stage crossings, excessive embankments and sharp curves, significantly the place a number of vulnerabilities exist. Representational picture of a items practice derailed.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Emphasising turnouts as a serious focus space for monitor upkeep, the Railway Board has stated that out of 28 derailments on account of track-related points in 2025-26, 18 occurred at factors the place trains transfer from one monitor to a different.
Turnouts, also referred to as factors and crossings, are these monitor segments which permit trains to go from one monitor to a different.
“Out of 28 derailments on engineering accounts [track-related issues] during 2025-26, 18 cases [about 65%] have occurred on turnouts. Accordingly, turnouts should continue to be a major focus area in track maintenance,” the Railway Board stated in a current letter to all its zones.
“Analysis of final causes of derailments as recorded in SlMS [Safety Information Management System] indicates the need for better counselling and guidance of field officers and supervisors in correctly identifying and analysing the causes of derailments,” the Board stated, highlighting the discussions held throughout a gathering between chief monitor engineers and Member [infrastructure].
During the assembly, the Railway Board’s Member [Infrastructure] requested the officers to offer the best precedence to upkeep of monitor with high quality and addressed the necessity to shift from a renewal-based philosophy to a maintenance-based strategy, as well timed upkeep enhances reliability, improves the service life of monitor, and reduces the necessity for untimely renewals.
Each division has been requested to arrange a consolidated monitor motion plan at the senior divisional engineer stage.
“The plan should be comprehensive, covering both renewal and maintenance activities, and its progress should be monitored regularly by the Chief Track Engineer (CTE). While instrumentation in inspections is increasing, manual inspections remain essential for a complete assessment of track conditions,” the Board’s letter, referring to the tackle by the Member [Infrastructure], stated.
Divisions have been requested to extend subject inspections particularly at susceptible areas resembling turnouts, bridges, stage crossings, excessive embankments and sharp curves, significantly the place a number of vulnerabilities exist.
“Maintenance quality should ensure durability so that once a location is attended, it does not require frequent attention. Locations requiring frequent attention should be critically examined and alternative approaches should be adopted to address recurring issues effectively,” the letter stated.
It additional urged officers to train due care whereas feeding knowledge into the monitor administration system (TMS) to keep up knowledge integrity.
Directing the divisions to watch and expeditiously shut outdated track-related works, the Board stated that 141 ongoing works are greater than 10 years outdated and require ₹1,334 crore to complete.
“Similarly, 1,997 works older than five years have a Throw Forward Liability of ₹16,868 crore,” it added.
Published – May 06, 2026 05:00 pm IST
