With questions being asked of its track maintenance following the horrific accident in Balasore on Friday, Indian Railways has said that it spent ₹13,523 crore from a non-lapsable Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) on replacing old tracks (track renewals) in 2020-21, although the number was still short by ₹44,936 crore of the amount the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) estimated would be needed for the purpose.
In its 23rd report of 2022, the government’s auditor said the Railways’ Depreciation Reserve Fund (DRF) meant for replacement and renewal of assets was “insufficient”; that only ₹671.92 crore was spent from the fund 2020-21 even as ₹58,459 crore was required for track renewals alone that year.
To be sure, the Balasore accident is believed to have been caused by a malfunction of or interference with either a signal or an interconnection or both, according to a preliminary report.
