Time was when after every railway mishap demands were made for the resignation of the minister, until it came to be accepted that a ministerial resignation or the dismissal of a senior official did not ensure the safety of the travelling public.

Yet, after three major rail-smashes in as many months and nearly 200 lives being lost, it is not irrelevant to ask “who is being made to pay”? The disinclination of those in high authority to “fix” responsibility and accountability sends out a disturbing signal — that despite the sympathies expressed by the “leadership”, the gravity of the situation has not seriously impacted those who continue with their fanciful attempts at modernisation and so on.

At this rate the proposed bullet trains could soon be dubbed “killer trains” — for there is no guarantee that they will not suffer the same fate as the ones whose memory are still “live”. It is time that Suresh Prabhu and his officials accept the unpleasant reality that they have betrayed the trust of the paying public. For a railway ticket cannot come to be equated with a ticket to disaster.

What must add to grave concerns is the recent trend to suggest sabotage, even suspect a foreign hand at work, without presenting much evidence to back up that charge.

That gives rise to an apprehension that by hinting at mischief top officials are attempting to divert attention away from their own shortcomings. And exploiting current cross-border tensions to protect themselves. This is as objectionable as it is unprofessional.

Suresh Prabhu has generally been perceived as “non-political”, that element of his reputation is being corroded by those tendering specious alibis. The coming session of Parliament would provide the minister the opportunity to present a comprehensive picture: he may now be spared the scrutiny that a separate railway budget would have facilitated, but he must not evade facing the unsweet music. People are losing faith in the railways, but they have little alternative to using the trains.

True that the sabotage angle cannot be eliminated, equally true that the railways have performed pathetically in terms of track renewal and maintenance.

The huge vacancies in the lower level staff — the folk who actually monitor the permanent way — has assumed dangerous dimensions. The report of a parliamentary committee that emphasised how the “nuts and bolts” were being ignored has failed to shake Rail Bhavan and the zonal headquarters out of their criminal lethargy.

There is “buzz” that a special safety fund is being proposed in the coming budget; it will have little impact if it does not pressure senior officials to “get their hands dirty” and restore to the system a genuine respect for passenger safety.