Around 10-12 coaches of Coromandel Express derailed near Bahanaga Railway station and ‘infringed’ into the opposite track. Subsequently, the Howrah Express, travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah, collided with the affected carriages at high speed, resulting in further derailment. Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Sunday, said the accident occurred due to a “change in electronic interlocking”.

Electronic interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements between trains through an arrangement of tracks. It is basically a safety measure to prevent signals from being changed in improper sequence. The aim of this system is that no train gets the signal to proceed unless the route is proven safe.

On Monday, the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express train crossed the restored railway track in Odisha’s Balasore hours after the passenger train services were resumed in the district. The train services were affected in Balasore after the Odisha triple train accident.

Meanwhile, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday evening waved at the crew of a goods train and prayed for a safe journey, as services resumed after 51 hours of a train accident in Balasore.

“Services on both tracks have been restored. Normal train services on both lines have now been restored, 51 hours after the accident,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Source: ANI

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He also said there is serious concern among people about the deterioration in safety of railways. In his letter, Kharge had pointed out that the 2022 CAG report “Derailment in Indian Railways” highlights that funding for the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) has been reduced by a massive 79 per cent. It was claimed during the budget presentation that about Rs 20,000 crore would be available annually, but this was not done, he had claimed and asked why were the required funds not allocated for track renewal work.

However, data in the document showed that from 2017-18 to 2021-22, the railways spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on RRSK works. In February 2022, the government extended the validity of RRSK by another five years, starting 2022-23. The data on track renewal shows that expenditure on it, during 2017-18 to 2021-22, has reflected a steady growth. From Rs 8,884 crore in 2017-18, the expenditure on track renewal increased to Rs 13,522 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 16,558 crore in 2021-22, the document stated.

In total, the railways spent Rs 58,045 crore on track renewal during this period, it stated. Report number 22 of 2022 of the CAG on “Derailment in Indian Railways” was tabled in Parliament on December 21 last year.

A government source said, “The coverage of RRSK utilisation in the (CAG) report is limited to three years — 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. Hence, it gives a partial picture on actual expenditure that has been undertaken on both track renewal as well as safety related works by the Indian Railways. As is the practice, a detailed reply on all issues raised in this report is being sent shortly.”

“The factual position on expenditure, therefore, is completely contrary to the figures being quoted. The actual trend of expenditure on track renewal on the Indian Railways has increased from Rs 47,039 crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14 to Rs 1,09,023 crore during 2014-15 to 2023-24 (BE or Budget Estimate), reflecting an increase of more than double,” the source said.

The sources also said similarly, expenditure on safety related works, which include track renewal, bridges, level crossing, railway over and under bridges and signalling works, has increased from Rs 70,274 crore during 2004-05 to 2013-14 to Rs 1,78,012 crore during 2014-15 to 2023-24 (BE), reflecting an increase of more than two and a half times.

Source: PTI

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In the three-way train accident, the number of injured people reached over 1000, according to Railway officials. 17 coaches of the two trains derailed and were severely damaged in the accident that took place on Friday evening.

Condolences poured in from all across the globe after the tragic triple train mishap took place in Odisha’s Balasore district. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in the train accident at Balasore in Odisha and said his thoughts are with the families of the victims. Macron said that France stands in solidarity with India.

“My deepest condolences to President Murmu, Prime Minister Modi and the people of India after the tragic train accident in Odisha. France stands in solidarity with you. My thoughts are with the families of the victims,” the French President said in a tweet.

Japan PM Fumio Kishida said that he is “saddened” over the loss of lives in the train accident in Odisha and wished speedy recovery to the injured. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the train accident.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his condolences. “Deeply saddened by the loss of hundreds of lives in a train accident in India. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. Prayers for a speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a tweet.

Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw who arrived at the incident site in Balasore on Saturday said that a high-level probe has been initiated and efforts will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future.

Source: ANI

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At the time of the completion of rescue operations, the death toll have risen to 261, and restoration work of the site have been completed.

The wrecked coaches, which had become a massive mound of steel boxes, were raised using large cranes and bulldozers that were brought in. To remove the dead bodies and look for the survivors, rescue personnel used electric cutters and gas torches.

On the way to Howrah, several coaches of the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express derailed and collapsed on nearby rails. The 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express was struck by the derailed carriages, and both trains’ coaches capsized. As the Coromandel Express collided with the goods train’s waggons, a goods train was also hurt.

Source: Bureau

The post Odisha Train Accident: Rescue Operations Complete, Restoration Work Underway, Says Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.