The colliding trains in Narsingdi

The head-on collision of two trains, the Mahanagar Godhuli and Chattala Express, in Narsingdi on Wednesday raises the question of how safe railway services are in Bangladesh. There is a particular reason why such a question comes up, given that the general feeling has been that compared to other means of public travel, such as bus and launch services, railway journeys have been looked upon as relatively secure. The accident rate in the case of the railways is lower than that in the case of bus and launch journeys. But, of course, we do realise that accidents do happen all the time and in every area. The idea remains, though, that there ought to be as few of them as possible.
Where the tragic happening in Narsingdi is concerned, there are serious reasons to think that it did not have to happen. For one thing, trains follow a set route which again is guided in technologically detailed and safe manner. For another, those who operate trains are expected to be alert to the utmost not just about ensuring the safety of passengers but also about being careful in preventing mishaps to those not on the train as it rushes on. Which brings up the question of how these two trains in Narsingdi ended up on the same tracks and simply thudded into each other. As an electrician of the Chattala Express notes, this train was not supposed to be on track-1 but on track-2. If that is so, there is here a clear case of negligence of duty on the part of those who man the signals system. As we understand it, the railway authorities themselves suspect that wrong signalling may have caused the accident. That is only too obvious, since it is not logically possible for two trains to be on the same track and move toward each other. Just how much of a responsibility the railway people bear for the tragedy is to be noted in the allegations made by some local people. They have alleged that the employees of the local railway station simply deserted their posts immediately after the accident occurred.
There is a clear need for a thorough, purposeful inquiry into the accident. The four-member inquiry committee formed by Bangladesh Railway must get to the root of the matter. To our dismay, however, we note that no inquiry report on accidents or indeed on any other matter has in the past ever been made public. Neither have any individuals responsible for accidents and the like have been held to account so far. It is time we broke with this reprehensible tradition or track record. Let the inquiry into the Narsingdi accident be a departure from the norm.
We are constrained to say that the time has arrived for the country's railways to be modernized and brought in line with railway services in other parts of the world, especially in our neighbourhood. An installation of up-to-date signalling and tracking systems is a dire necessity. In circumstances where three major train accidents have already occurred this year, these measures become a necessity. And let us not forget that in the last nine years, for all the relative safety of train journeys, 5,050 railway accidents have taken place in Bangladesh. Those figures should have been an eye-opener for Bangladesh Railway long before the Narsingdi tragedy.
We express our condolences to the bereaved families of those who have died in the accident. As for those who have been injured, let the authorities come forward with the assistance they will certainly need for treatment.