Opinion: India Needs To Focus On Tracks Before Trains

We are still not sure exactly why India's storied Coromandel Express plowed into a stationary freight train late on Friday night last week, setting off a three-train pileup that cost almost 300 people their lives. But it seems likely that something as mundane as a signaling fault could have been to blame, sending the express down the wrong tracks toward the parked goods carriages loaded down with iron ore.

The tragedy shocked Indians not just because so many died, but because we have grown accustomed to the idea that railroad travel in this country has gotten much safer. A few years ago, we celebrated when nobody was killed in accidents for two successive years. The government has widely publicized its investments into Indian Railways; swanky new trains have been regularly flagged off, and the prime minister has himself been awkwardly photographed on one of the new "Vande Bharat" expresses. Some have argued that the focus on new trains has meant safety has been ignored.

That may not be entirely true. Over the past decades, a lot of work has been put into upgrading signaling, shutting down level crossings, and other ways to make Indian railroads safer.

But it is also an understandable impression. Since the hard work of upgrading safety (and improving customer experience, or increasing on-time arrivals) isn't very glamorous, the government does focus more on showing off its new trains and other snazzy innovations.