Indian train accident.....

PRIYA · Oct 4th, 2005, 15:38

Indian train accident: brakes may have failed

Bhopal, India - A crowded, speeding train jumped the tracks in central India on Monday and crashed into a signal cabin, killing 18 passengers and injuring about.....

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3& art_id=qw1128352321384B262&new slett=1&em=55177a1a20051004ah

sadhuji · Oct 7th, 2005, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRIYA

Indian train accident: brakes may have failed ....

train accidents in india have any number of reasons - no one bothers much. if you are unlucky to become a victim, the railways will declare compensation to those you leave behind. if they can fight it out, they will be richer by a couple of lakhs - if they are illiterate, they money goes into other pockets. the poor souls do not even know that thye are entitled to compensations.

most of the victims are of unreserved compartments that are attached just behind the engines - naturally, when one train rams into another or overturns , these bogies are the worst affected and a majority of travellers in these bogies are from the lowest stratas of society.

psfb · Oct 7th, 2005, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by sadhuji

most of the victims are of unreserved compartments that are attached just behind the engines - naturally, when one train rams into another or overturns , these bogies are the worst affected and a majority of travellers in these bogies are from the lowest stratas of society.

Or they're an Aussie tourist on the last leg of his round the world trip who has just flown into Dehli to discover that his bloody ATM card doesn't work in India, and he's desperate to at least see the Taj using what little cash he has left which is a mixture of Tanzanian Shillings, Egyptian Pounds, a few US D's and a few other assorted bits and bobs. Happened to me, and so I was in one of the front carriages - and yes we had the bloody train accident! But at least it was on the way back from the Taj, so I did at least get to see it! - and I've got the scars to show for it!

Nick-H · Oct 7th, 2005, 15:11

Seems to me that no-one bothers much about safety in India.

Road traffic: no more needs to be said.

Electricity: High voltage cables snake out of pavements; children die from touching things in the street that have become live

Buildings: fall down (not that often, but it happens) ---and I hate to imagine how many deaths and serious injuries there are in the building trade

Machinery: runs without guards even when accessible to public as well as workers.

Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution?

PRIYA · Oct 7th, 2005, 15:21

Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution?

Good point Nick!

Digital Drifter · Oct 7th, 2005, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRIYA

Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution?

Good point Nick!

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much.

I thank the stars that I'm not superstitous or have faith in destiny.

Indojingai · Oct 7th, 2005, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRIYA

Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution?

Good point Nick!

NickH: Its actually carelessness. (It can also be called stupidity or irresponsibility.)

OT: Most Indian people dont give a damn to safety, so there isnt a lot to expect from Govt. work. And thus I favor privatization of public services.

Digital Drifter · Oct 7th, 2005, 15:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indojingai

. And thus I favor privatization of public services.

As if that solves the problem!

To quote just one example

Reliance energy was the last to restore services after the bombay flood. the SEBs was faster.

So much for privatization.

Not trying to diss you but lots of people believe that making it private will solve the issue.

Not.

With oversight, yes.

But if it's only oversight which can solve these serivice quality, then the same can be applied to Gov. Sector to make it work, can't it?

see here, for a fascinating insight into deregualtion/privatization and results.

pithy summary: more court cases.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/mt/...ntry_id=72 63

Quote:

It galls me to hear the President rail about trial lawyers suing hospitals. Why is it that the trial lawyers bring these suits? Because the hospitals depart from a standard of care, often set out in federal regulations, which the President of the United States has the duty to enforce.

....If the President wanted to cripple the lawyers, he might consider, for example, setting nurse to patient ratios. Of course he won't. Yet as hospitals cut back on nurses, they end up violating more standards and regulations.

Indojingai · Oct 7th, 2005, 17:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital Drifter

As if that solves the problem!

Solving all of India's problems. Good luck DD .. .

Though I concur but I dont think that this (electrical safety) is (completely) possible with any type of ownership.. public or private.

But I did find a difference in the safety and maintenance standards followed when DESU (Delhi Electricity State Union .. or something like that) was privatized. So, atleast it does make better at least one aspect.

Nick-H · Oct 7th, 2005, 17:54

Indojingai, If you want to see what privatisation does then just look at UK railways and the maintainance system here.

All privatisation does is, bottom line, is introduce a further cost: that of profit.

And, of course, make people very much not interested in things that don't increase profit.

Indojingai · Oct 7th, 2005, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Indojingai, If you want to see what privatisation does then just look at UK railways and the maintainance system here.

All privatisation does is, bottom line, is introduce a further cost: that of profit.

Nick-H: The day Indian trains are half as safe as the UK trains, I'll eat my words out.
When was the last time 100s of people were killed in a head on collision in the UK, so frequently?

The country is making gains in economy (much slower than China) but its not much see-able, to me atleast.

Nick-H · Oct 7th, 2005, 20:54

Well, our trains are not so crowded as Indian trains. I have no idea of the figures, but given the enormity of India, the size of its railway system and the number of people that travel on it, I'd guess that the Indian figures wouldn't look so bad compoared to UK.

Take a look at what happened at Paddington a few years ago, and the Hatfield crash, due entirely to maintainance failure.

UK railways used to be run according to incredibly stringent safety regulations: now they are run according to commerce.

One result of this is that disaster recovery units used to be kept permanently at the ready, meaning that engineering support at an accident site was quick and expert --- services would be restored in hours and days, not weeks.

Our, now private, buses are already resembling Indian busses in their disregard for rules of the road

Willsy · Oct 7th, 2005, 21:52

Ok, so reading this I'm now thinking "am I going to survive this trip?!" We leave two weeks today, I'm scared enough of flying as it is, and this thread really hasn't helped - I'm now dreading all the train journeys we're planning to take as well.

Can someone please reassure me - lie if you must - that the chances of being in a train accident are slim.

cheers

psfb · Oct 7th, 2005, 22:04

You'll be fine. I mean I only had one train accident in the four hours I spent on Indian Railways on my last trip (that's 4 hours if you don't count the 2.5 hours that I was trapped in the mangled carriage after the crash).

psfb · Oct 7th, 2005, 22:05

But I'm sure that you'll be fine, so don't worry - it was just plain bad luck with my trip.

Oct 4th, 2005, 15:38	#1
PRIYA Discombobulated Elsewherean! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Zimbabwe Posts: 1,180	Indian train accident..... Indian train accident: brakes may have failed Bhopal, India - A crowded, speeding train jumped the tracks in central India on Monday and crashed into a signal cabin, killing 18 passengers and injuring about..... http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3& art_id=qw1128352321384B262&new slett=1&em=55177a1a20051004ah __________________ Happiness is for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. (Anon.) Last edited by indiamike : Oct 4th, 2005 at 17:10.

Oct 7th, 2005, 15:11	#4
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 35,898	Seems to me that no-one bothers much about safety in India. Road traffic: no more needs to be said. Electricity: High voltage cables snake out of pavements; children die from touching things in the street that have become live Buildings: fall down (not that often, but it happens) ---and I hate to imagine how many deaths and serious injuries there are in the building trade Machinery: runs without guards even when accessible to public as well as workers. Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution? __________________ ... Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (2)

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Oct 7th, 2005, 15:21	#5
PRIYA Discombobulated Elsewherean! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Zimbabwe Posts: 1,180	Is there too much belief in destiny and not enough in caution? Good point Nick!

Oct 7th, 2005, 17:54	#10
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 35,898	Indojingai, If you want to see what privatisation does then just look at UK railways and the maintainance system here. All privatisation does is, bottom line, is introduce a further cost: that of profit. And, of course, make people very much not interested in things that don't increase profit.

Oct 7th, 2005, 20:54	#12
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 35,898	Well, our trains are not so crowded as Indian trains. I have no idea of the figures, but given the enormity of India, the size of its railway system and the number of people that travel on it, I'd guess that the Indian figures wouldn't look so bad compoared to UK. Take a look at what happened at Paddington a few years ago, and the Hatfield crash, due entirely to maintainance failure. UK railways used to be run according to incredibly stringent safety regulations: now they are run according to commerce. One result of this is that disaster recovery units used to be kept permanently at the ready, meaning that engineering support at an accident site was quick and expert --- services would be restored in hours and days, not weeks. Our, now private, buses are already resembling Indian busses in their disregard for rules of the road

Oct 7th, 2005, 21:52	#13
Willsy Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bradford-on-Avon, England Posts: 26	Ok, so reading this I'm now thinking "am I going to survive this trip?!" We leave two weeks today, I'm scared enough of flying as it is, and this thread really hasn't helped - I'm now dreading all the train journeys we're planning to take as well. Can someone please reassure me - lie if you must - that the chances of being in a train accident are slim. cheers

Oct 7th, 2005, 22:04	#14
psfb Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 120	You'll be fine. I mean I only had one train accident in the four hours I spent on Indian Railways on my last trip (that's 4 hours if you don't count the 2.5 hours that I was trapped in the mangled carriage after the crash).

Oct 7th, 2005, 22:05	#15
psfb Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 120	But I'm sure that you'll be fine, so don't worry - it was just plain bad luck with my trip.