A lot has been done, but a lot more is yet to be done. Some of the major problems faced by the Indian Railways are briefly discussed as under:
Safety
Indian Railways have been in the news albeit for wrong reasons. With the rapid increase in passenger and goods traffic, the frequency of train accidents is increasing very fast. This has raised serious doubts in the public mind about safety of Rail travel and the general health of the railway network.
The credibility of an organization with a long and proud history of nation building seriously eroded. In such a situation it is but natural to ask where the Railways are heading. Table 28.6 gives an overview of the major Railway accidents that occurred during the last one decade from 1995 to 2005. On an average the Railways report 20 major collisions, 350 derailments and around 80 level crossing accidents in a year. Attack on RailwaysThe Indian railways had to suffer a heavy loss of crores of rupees. The railways are attacked during the time of disturbances and violence's that arise in any part of the country. For instance, there was heavy loss of railways in the movements of West Bengal, Telengana and Assam.Terrorist attacks and bomb blastThe July 11, 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts which killed 209 people and injured over 700. A series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The bombs were set off in pressure cookers on trains plying the Western line of the Suburban Railway network.Health and Hygiene Cleanliness and Sanitation in Indian Railways is a multidisciplinary responsibility and vests with various departments of