Commission of Railway Safety (CRS)
The Commission of Railway Safety is a government commission of India.
Subordinate to the Ministry of Civil Aviation
The commission is the rail safety authority in India, as directed by The Railways Act, 1989.
The agency investigates serious rail accidents.
Its head office is in the North-East Railway Compound in Lucknow.
CRS - Organisational structure and jurisdiction
The Commission is headed by a Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS), who also acts as Principal Technical Advisor to the Central Government in all matters pertaining to railway safety.
Working under the administrative control of CCRS are 9 Commissioners of Railway Safety (CRS), each one exercising jurisdiction over one or more of the 17 Zonal Railways.
In addition, Metro Railway (Kolkata), DMRC (Delhi), MRTS (Chennai) and Konkan Railway also fall under their jurisdiction.
Why the CRS is under the Ministry of Aviation?
The reason behind this is to keep the CRS insulated from the influence of the country’s railway establishment and prevent conflicts of interest.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety is a former member of the Railways who cannot go back to the Railways after joining this organisation, and works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. So, the CRS has independence from the Railways hierarchy.
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