Indian Railways witnessed a significant increase in equipment failures during the first quarter of the current financial year, as per official data. Compared to the previous year, there were more breakdowns in overhead equipment (OHE) and signalling equipment, as well as instances of wagon and coach detachments, train parting, and hot axle.However, there were some improvements in electric and diesel locomotives, as well as engineering, where the number of incidents was lower than the previous year.In April-June 2023, the national transporter reported 16,458 cases of signal equipment failures across its zones, which was 8.8 per cent higher than the 15,129 incidents recorded in the same period the previous year.The increase in equipment failures can be attributed to the higher number of trains operating on the Indian Railways network. According to a senior Railways Ministry official, there has been a 12 per cent increase in the number of passenger trains, with 10,656 trains currently running in the country.Additionally, an internal railways enquiry panel found that the Balasore train accident in June, which resulted in over 290 fatalities, was caused by a fault in the signalling equipment.The data also revealed concerns about equipment failures in the newly constructed dedicated freight corridor (DFC) and passenger electric locomotives, according to another railways official who reviewed the data.The first official mentioned that the data for the first quarter might not reflect the overall performance for the entire year due to seasonal factors such as the operation of summer specials, special maintenance drives, and monsoon preparedness.The railways conduct a detailed analysis of each equipment failure, and corrective measures are taken to minimise their occurrence, the official added.During the three-month period ending on June 30, the railways recorded 253 incidents of train parting, 636 OHE failures, and 3,759 cases of electric locomotive failures.In the DFC, there has been a significant increase in electric locomotive failures, rising to 70 from 15 in April-June of the previous year. Additionally, OHE failures in the freight corridor have surged to 67 from just four incidents.