The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has accused the Railways of compromising on safety while running goods trains. Zonal Railways did not take an approval before running the broken-down wagons (coaches) which amounts to playing with rail security.

In its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the CAG said that more than 3.30 lakh wagons were passed without approval after repairs in workshops and terminal yards compromising with rail safety. According to railway data from 2016-17 to 2020-21, the average speed of goods trains has halved due to excessive unnecessary stoppages at loading-unloading points.

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At present, the average speed of goods trains is 25-30 km per hour which was reduced to 13 to 15 kilometers per hour. Due to this, the goods trains reach their destination late. The Railways had to bear loss of revenue on account the delay.

The CAG has questioned the procurement and utilization of wagons in the Indian Railways due to a lack of coordination between the Railway Board and Zonal Railways. The CAG in its report noted that Zonal Railways did not participate in estimating the requirement of wagons.

Proposals for the acquisition of wagons were not sent to the Railway Board. In the absence of proposal input from Zonal Railways, the Board kept on changing the requirement of wagons. Due to this, there was a huge gap between the supply and demand for the allocation of wagons. And there was also a delay in the supply of wagons. Many wagon makers canceled the contracts. This has adversely affected the revenue target of the Railways.