New Delhi: Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday credited the railways’ fatality-free run between April 1 and December 27 this year to the hard work of its 13 lakh- odd personnel.
The Indian Railways has recorded zero passenger deaths in rail accidents in FY 2019-20 so far, making it the national transporter’s safest year in history, according to official data.
The railways recorded 16 deaths in 2018-19, 28 the previous fiscal, and 195 in 2016-17.
While between 1990-1995, an average of over 500 accidents took place every year with around 2,400 deaths and 4,300 injured in those five years; between 2013-2018, an average of around 110 accidents took place every year which killed around 990 people and injured about 1,500 people, according to data available with PTI.
“From April 1 to December 27 this year, we did not have a single (mishap-related) death of any railway passenger. It is a great achievement by 13 lakh railway employees who work day and night, through thick and thin, through rains, snow, heat or even violence to ensure that trains run smoothly,” the Railway Minister said.
