Context: The investigation of the recent train crash in Odisha is being conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety for the south-eastern circle. Rail safety commissioners are part of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), a government body that acts as the railway safety authority in the country.

About Commission of Railway Safety (CRS)

• CRS is a government body that acts as the railway safety authority in the country.

• Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

• CRS deals with matters related to the safety of rail travel and operations.

• Other statutory functions: inspectorial, investigatory, and advisory functions, as laid down in the Railways Act, 1989.

• CRS does not report to the Ministry of Railways of the Railway Board, it comes under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

• Reason: to keep the CRS insulated from the influence of India’s railway establishment and prevent conflicts of interest.

Early days of railways in India and safety oversight

• In 1800s, the first railways in India were constructed and operated by private companies.

• At the time, consulting engineers were appointed by the British Indian government for effective control and oversight of the developing railway network and operations.

• The engineers’ job was to ensure efficiency, economy, and safety in railway operations in India.

• Later, the consulting engineers were re-designated as ‘government inspectors’, and in 1883, their position was recognised statutorily.

• In the first decade of the 20th century, the Railway Inspectorate was placed under the Railway Board, which was established in 1905.

• As per the Indian Railway Board Act, 1905, and a notification by the then Department of Commerce and Industry, the Railway Board was entrusted with powers and functions of the government under various sections of the Railway Act and was also authorised to make rules for railway operations in India.

• This made the Railway Board the safety controlling authority for railways in India.

Separation of safety supervision function and Railway Board – The groundwork

• The Government of India Act 1935 said that functions for securing the safety of railway operations should be performed by an authority independent of the federal railway authority or the Railway Board.

• These functions also included conducting railway accident probes.

• Due to the Second World War in 1939, the idea given in GOI Act 1935 did not take off and the Railway Inspectorate continued to function under the control of the Railway Board.

• In 1939, a panel headed by A.H.L. Mount (chief inspecting officer of the British Railways), said that the separation of the Railway Inspectorate from the Railway Board was very desirable.

• It will do away with the anomaly of the Railway Board being the “inspecting as well as the executive authority” for railway operations in India.

Transfer of Railway Inspectorate from Railway Board’s control

• In 1940, the Central Legislature endorsed the idea and principle of separation of the Railway Inspectorate from the Railway Board.

• It recommended that the senior government inspectors of the railways should be placed under the administrative control of a different authority under the government.

• In May 1941, the Railway Inspectorate was separated from the Railway Board and put under the then Department of Posts and Air.

• Since then, the Inspectorate, which was re-designated as the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) in 1961, has been under the control of the central ministry exercising control over civil aviation in India.