Odisha train accident: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who visited Balasore in Odisha where 300 people died in a train crash Friday evening, said on Sunday that the root cause of the accident had been identified. The minister said the inquiry into the train accident has been completed and rail safety commissioner will submit the report at the earliest.
“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,” the minister added.
The minister further said, “As soon as we get the inquiry report, all the facts will come to the fore. But the root cause of this horrific and heart-wrenching accident has been identified.”
What is electronic interlocking?
Interlocking is an integral part of Railway Signalling that ensures the safe passage of the train through the controlled area. Railway’s modern electronic Interlocking (EI) signalling is different from the conventional Relay Interlocking system (PI & RRI).
According to the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways, EI is a microprocessor-based interlocking equipment to read the yard and panel inputs, process them in a fail-safe manner as per the selection table and generate the required output. It is based on software which makes any modification easy without the need for any wiring changes.
Signal given then taken off
Preliminary investigations revealed that the Coromandel Express entered the loop line near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore around 7pm on Friday because of a “mistaken” signal, which was immediately withdrawn.
“After careful observation, (we) came to the conclusion that the signal was given and taken off for the main line for 12841 (Coromandel Express), but this train entered the loop line and dashed with the goods train which was on the loop line and derailed,” said the report signed by four senior railway officials, who inspected the accident site on Friday night.
300 killed, 900 injured
Nearly 300 people were killed and 900 injured in a horrific train crash Friday evening in Odisha’s Balasore. Reports said 10 to 12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express collided with a goods train and derailed on the opposite track. Subsequently, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express collided with the derailed coaches, leading to the derailment of three to four of its own coaches.
The rescue operation was over Saturday afternoon and restoration work commenced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site on Saturday and was briefed by Ashwini Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management teams. He also met some of the injured in the hospital.
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