The Minister of Railways Mukul Roy has emphasised on safety as the top priority for Railways. Speaking at a conference of General Managers for different railway zones, he said that a safety audit of the rolling stock, including production units and workshops would be conducted, and the audit committee would submit its report within three months. Accidents at unmanned level crossings were an area of concern, he said. The Railways is in the process of framing an action plan to reduce the accidents. The plan will include an extensive campaign to educate road users on the precautions to be taken at the crossings and a time-bound scheme to eliminate unmanned crossings. There was also a need for a mechanism to detect rail fractures in time to avoid accidents, noted the minister.
