An estimated 15-20% of freight trains across the railway network are running with invalid or expired Brake Power Certificate (BPC) which is a mandatory document that certifies fitness of the rolling stock for operation.
Alarmed over the number of goods trains being operated without a valid road worthiness certificate, the Railway Board has instructed General Managers of all Zonal Railways to ensure that no loading is done on rakes without a valid BPC, railway sources told The Hindu on Friday.
At a high-level safety review meeting convened by the Chairman Railway Board/Chief Executive Officer after the devastating train accident in Bahanaga Bazar railway station of South Eastern Railway in Odisha that left 291 passengers dead and over 900 others injured, the issue of goods trains being operated with expired safety certification came up for discussion.
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Member (Engineering), Railway Board, Additional Member (Traffic) and General Managers were told that “a large proportion [about 15-20%] of freight trains are running with invalid BPC. There is no justification to run a train with invalid BPC and this should be reduced to nil…”
A BPC is issued to the loco pilot and guard by a Train Examiner of the Mechanical Department who inspects the rake and carries out necessary repair work. The BPC or road worthiness certificate is issued after the braking system and other safety parameters are checked and found to be normal.
Prone to derailment
The validity of the BPC is of different types, the most common being the one which is valid from the starting station to the destination. “The validity can be for a longer period depending upon the type of the rolling stock. Modern rakes require less repairs. Every BPC has some grace period after the validity expires. During such period the loco pilot/guard have to inspect safety and run the train at low speed to the nearest train examination depot. A freight train with invalid BPC is prone to derailment,” a senior railway officer who did not want to be quoted said.
After the safety review meeting, the Railway Board instructed all zones to make sure that no loading of wagons is done after the expiry of the BPC. Efforts should be made to send loaded rakes having sufficient validity period to terminals where back loading (transporting goods on return journey) is generally done.
