Toll nears 300; Change in electronic interlocking caused accident, says Railway Minister
Bhubaneswar (Odisha): A collision between two passenger trains and goods train in Odisha’s Balasore has resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 290 individuals, with approximately 1,000 others sustaining injuries.
Authorities are still working to clear the train crash wreckage from the tracks.
According to Railway officials, the Coromandel Express, which operates between Kolkata and Chennai, crashed into the Howrah Superfast Express.
The Howrah Superfast Express derailed and became entangled with the Coromandel Express, South Eastern Railway authorities said. A goods train too was part of the massive collision, making it one of the deadliest train accidents India hasever witnessed.
In what is considered one of the largest search-and-rescue operations in recent years, over 2,000 personnel raced against time to find the hundreds trapped in the wreckage of two trains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the spot to take stock of the accident.
Prima facie, a signalling error, which led the Coromandel Express to go off its designated track and ram a stationary goods train from behind, seems to be the culprit. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwin Vaishnaw said that the cause of the accident as well as those responsible have been identified.
“The Commissioner of Railway Safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it. It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. Right now our focus is on restoration,” said Vaishnaw on Sunday.
The Minister said that the accident had nothing to do with ‘Kavach’. “The reason is not what (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.”
The Indian Railway has developed its own indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System called ‘Kavach’ to enhance the safety of trains. It is a cost-effective solution that has received Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) certification, ensuring a high level of safety with an extremely low probability of error (1 error in 10,000 years).
This post was published on June 4, 2023 7:42 pm