As government pushes for railway upgrade, Odisha rail crash raises safety questions
Prime minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat, an electrical semi-high-speed train equipped with a safety feature – another step in the modernization of an antiquated railway that is the lifeline of the world’s most populous nation on Saturday, instead he travelled to Odisha to deal with one of the country’s worst train disasters that left over 280 dead and hundreds injured.
The massive derailment on Friday night involving two passenger trains is a stark reminder of safety issues that continue to challenge the vast railway system that transports nearly 22 million passengers each day.
India is a country of 1.42 billion people, has one of the world’s most extensive and complicated railways built during the British colonial era:
