The morning of July 19, 2010, was different from any other day for the people in Sainthia, West Bengal. Frantic announcements at Sainthia Station, horrific sight of a mangled compartment on a 25-foot-high road bridge were raising the alarm for the second fatal train accident in West Bengal within two months of the ill-fated Gyaneshwari Express accident, which occurred on May 28, 2010. Sixty-one people were killed and more than 150 were injured when Uttar Banga Express roared in and crashed into the rear of Ranchi-bound Vananchal Express, which was about to pull out of the platform, in the wee hours of Monday.

Unfortunately, this is the 11th train accident in the last 15 months. It seems that trains, which are regarded as the popular means of transportation in India, are no longer safe. Especially, train accidents have become so common on India's rail network in the past few years that people are now forced to think twice before travelling in trains. What is the reason behind it? Is the railway safety standard in India satisfactory enough?br />
In the last four years, around 200 new trains were launched, many existing rail routes were extended and the frequency of trains also increased. No doubt, all these things have exerted considerable pressure on the railway network. Although gauge conversion and doubling are some positive steps to increase the capacity of the network, these steps are not enough to carry the extra burden.

It is true that new trains are being introduced without corresponding rail lines, the distance between trains is decreasing severely and proper intelligent systems are not being implemented. All of these are throwing a serious challenge to our railway system.

Railway safety has come in prime focus. Now it is time to adopt better technology and recruit and train workers better. It may be impossible to weed out human error completely but technological upgrades could provide some safeguards. It is also important to improve rescue and relief measures so that many lives can be saved.