Emphasising turnouts as a major focus area for track maintenance, the Railway Board has said that out of 28 derailments due to track-related issues in 2025-26, 18 occurred at points where trains move from one track to another.

Turnouts, also known as points and crossings, are those track segments which allow trains to go from one track to another.

"Out of 28 derailments on engineering accounts [track-related issues] during 2025-26, 18 cases [about 65%] have occurred on turnouts. Accordingly, turnouts should continue to be a major focus area in track maintenance," the Railway Board said in a recent letter to all its zones.

"Analysis of final causes of derailments as recorded in SlMS [Safety Information Management System] indicates the need for better counselling and guidance of field officers and supervisors in correctly identifying and analysing the causes of derailments," the Board said, highlighting the discussions held during a meeting between chief track engineers and Member [infrastructure].

During the meeting, the Railway Board's Member [Infrastructure] asked the officials to give the highest priority to maintenance of track with quality and addressed the need to shift from a renewal-based philosophy to a maintenance-based approach, as timely maintenance enhances reliability, improves the service life of track, and reduces the need for premature renewals.

Each division has been asked to prepare a consolidated track action plan at the senior divisional engineer level.

"The plan should be comprehensive, covering both renewal and maintenance activities, and its progress should be monitored regularly by the Chief Track Engineer (CTE). While instrumentation in inspections is increasing, manual inspections remain essential for a complete assessment of track conditions," the Board's letter, referring to the address by the Member [Infrastructure], said.

Divisions have been asked to increase field inspections especially at vulnerable locations such as turnouts, bridges, level crossings, high embankments and sharp curves, particularly where multiple vulnerabilities exist.

"Maintenance quality should ensure durability so that once a location is attended, it does not require frequent attention. Locations requiring frequent attention should be critically examined and alternative approaches should be adopted to address recurring issues effectively," the letter said.

It further urged officials to exercise due care while feeding data into the track management system (TMS) to maintain data integrity.

Directing the divisions to monitor and expeditiously close old track-related works, the Board said that 141 ongoing works are more than 10 years old and require ₹1,334 crore to finish.

"Similarly, 1,997 works older than five years have a Throw Forward Liability of ₹16,868 crore," it added.