Mumbai, July 11: Around 524 incidents of rail fracture were reported in the past four years in Mumbai, said data received through a Right to Information (RTI) query. The information received through the RTI query also states that the rail fracture also includes those tracks which were repaired and again got fractured.

The most recent incident of rail fracture reported was at Mumbai's Harbour route. There were reports that the rail authorities tied the fractured track with a cloth, a video of the same went viral on the social media. After the move, the authority drew a lot of flak for endangering the lives of commuters. Following this, railways clarified stating that the cloth was tied only to mark the track, as it required to be painted, so the workers on the ground can easily identify the fracture track and replace it. In addition, the authority said that the rail fracture was attended properly and no compromise was made with the lives of the commuters.

After repeated incidents of rail fracture reported across the nation in recent time, the BJP led union government is taking up track renewal work more seriously. As per earlier reports, there is a 50 per cent increase in rail track renewal from 2,926 kilometres in 2013-14 to 4,405 kilometers in 2017-18 across the nation. The government says that they aim to reduce the mishaps of derailment and provide a safe journey to the commuters.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 11, 2018 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).