This comes after a few media reports reported a Junior Engineer is absconding in the Balasore triple train accident. The tragic incident of a triple train accident on June 2 which involved the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Howrah-bound Shalimar Express and a goods train claimed the lives of 291 people.

CBI has registered a case in the tragic three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2. In the statement, CBI said, “On the request of the Ministry of Railways, consent of the Odisha Government and further orders from DoPT(Govt. of India) relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a Goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in the State of Odisha on June 2, 2023.”

“CBI has taken over the investigation of the case earlier registered at Balasore GRPS, District Cuttack (Odisha) vide GRPS Case No.64 dated June 3 regarding the said accident,” the statement further said. Meanwhile, Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw is on a three-day visit to Balasore, starting from June 19, 2023, and will meet those who helped during the train tragedy.

CBI has registered a case in the tragic three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2. In the statement, CBI said, “On the request of the Ministry of Railways, consent of the Odisha Government and further orders from DoPT(Govt. of India) relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a Goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in the State of Odisha on June 2, 2023.”

“CBI has taken over the investigation of the case earlier registered at Balasore GRPS, District Cuttack (Odisha) vide GRPS Case No.64 dated June 3 regarding the said accident,” the statement further said. Meanwhile, Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw is on a three-day visit to Balasore, starting from June 19, 2023, and will meet those who helped during the train tragedy.

Source: ANI

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As per the initial indications, only a small number of passengers of the two passenger trains have opted for the travel accident insurance cover while booking through the IRCTC portal.

Replying to a list of questions sent to SBI General Insurance’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kishore Kumar Poludasu, a company spokesperson told IANS: “As per data available, SBI General has covered 351 passengers.”

According to the SBI General Insurance official, a few claims for injury have been lodged with the company by the passengers of the two trains.

On the other hand, Roopam Asthana, Wholetime Director and CEO of Liberty General Insurance did not respond to the questions sent to him by IANS.

In that tragic accident, 288 passengers were killed and more than 1,000 others injured.

The IRCTC has selected SBI General Insurance and Liberty General Insurance to offer the travel accident insurance cover.

Those who reserveed tickets through IRCTC booking portal can opt for accident insurance for Rs 10 lakhs by paying a paltry premium of Re 0.35 paise.

The policy covers death/disabilities/medical expenses due to a train accident during the travel.

Both the companies declined to answer as to how the number of policies are divided between the two insurers when the tickets are booked.

Similarly the top officials of the two companies remained silent when queried about covering all the passengers which in turn would bring down the premium amount.

An industry official said the two insurers get an equal number of policies while the passengers book their tickets through the IRCTC portal. However, the number of passengers covered under a policy/ticket would differ.

“Even though they would like to have an insurance cover, not many passengers while booking a Tatkal train ticket on the IRCTC portal will be inclined to click on the insurance cover box as their main goal to reserve a ticket as every second counts during that time,” the insurance official said.

Further if all the train passengers are offered the travel insurance cover then the premium amount will further come down from 35 paise.

According to IRCTC’s regulatory filing of investor call transcript, during the last quarter of FY23, a total number of 10.44 crore tickets have been booked and 14.54 crores passengers have been booked on these tickets.

For the entire FY23, IRCTC had earned Rs.802 crore revenue from the internet ticketing service.

A total of 43 crore tickets were booked on IRCTC portal, the company said.

And in the last quarter of FY23, the convenience fee that IRCTC had earned was nearly Rs197 crore.

When the insurance scheme was started in 2016, the premium was 0.92 paise per passenger with Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd, and Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Ltd being the insurers.

Source: IANS

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However, the driver of the train applied the brakes and the train stopped, averting any major accident. This resulted in a delay of 45 minutes in the train’s schedule. “A tractor crashed the railway gate when it was closing at the Santhaldih railway crossing of the Bhojudih station in Bokaro district. However, the driver of the train applied the brakes and the train stopped, averting any major accident,” Manish Kumar, DRM, Adra Division, South Eastern Railway, told PTI.

Had the train driver not slammed brake, it could have been a major train mishap, similar to the Odisha Train Accident in the Balasore, where 278 passengers were killed. Kumar said the incident occurred around 5 pm and the train was delayed by about 45 minutes.

He said the tractor has been seized and an FIR lodged at the police station concerned, while the gate man has been suspended. The driver of the tractor had fled the spot.

The incident occurred barely days after one of the worst train tragedies in the country at the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore district, which claimed 278 lives and left more than 1,100 people injured after a crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train.

Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, said the Odisha train 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.

Source: Bureau

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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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Earlier, Commissioner of Railway Safety Shailesh Kumar Pathak visited the accident site where he went to the control room, signal room and signal point at Bahanaga Bazar railway station. This apart, the Government Railway Police in Balasore has registered a case on June 3 under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Railway Act over the accident.

Reacting to questions on the need for a CBI probe when the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) was already probing the incident, an official indicated that the preliminary inquiry revealed the need for a more thorough investigation. “Lot of information has come during the course of the investigation. Various kinds of information have been made available which required a professional investigative agency,” he said.

The accident in which a speeding Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train on the loop line instead of travelling on the main line indicated issues with the electronic interlocking system which changed the route of the train and led to the collision. “Unless there is deliberate interference in the system, it is impossible that a route set for the main line is switched to the loop line,” he said.

The railways has also launched a safety drive with a slew of directions to all zonal headquarters on the security of station relay rooms and compounds housing signalling equipment, including “double locking arrangements”, after an initial probe showed “signalling interference” as a suspected reason behind the Odisha triple-train accident.

In accordance with the procedure, the CBI has taken over the Balasore GRP case number 64 registered by Odisha Police on June 3, official sources said. The case was registered under various IPC sections like 37 and 38 (related to causing hurt and endangering lives through rash or negligent action), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention), and sections 153 (unlawful and negligent action endangering lives of Railway passengers ), 154 and 175 (endangering lives) of the Railways Act.

Source: PTI

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Airlines have been asked to self-monitor airfares on routes that have seen a considerable rise in ticket prices, particularly those that were served by Go First earlier. Go First stopped flying from May 3 and the reduction of capacity due to the crisis at the budget airline has come at a time when the peak domestic air travel period is round the corner.

A mechanism should be devised by airlines to ensure reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (Reservation Booking Designator) and the same would be monitored by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the ministry said in a statement. Airfares are deregulated under the current regulatory regime.

Besides, the ministry has said that during any calamity, airlines need to keep a tight check on the pricing of air tickets “in view of the humanitarian situation and monitor and control any surge in ticket prices to/ from that region”.

After the deregulation of the country’s airline sector, airfares are market-driven and are neither established nor regulated by the government. Airline pricing runs in multiple levels (buckets or Reservation Booking Designators). Scindia, on March 16, informed the Lok Sabha that “airfares are neither established nor regulated by the government”.

“The airline pricing system runs in multiple levels (buckets) which are in line with practices being followed globally. The prices are fixed by airlines keeping in mind the market, demand, seasonality and other market forces. The airfare increases with an increase in demand for seats as the lower fare buckets get sold out fast when bookings are offered by airlines,” he had said in a written reply.

India is one of the fastest-growing civil aviation markets in the world and domestic passenger traffic has been rising after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In April, domestic airlines flew 128.88 lakh passengers, as per the latest official data. Crisis-hit Go First is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process.

Source: PTI

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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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“IRDAI has sent instructions for quick settlement of claims pertaining to life and accident insurance for the victims of the rail accident by dispensing some of the requirements or relying on alternate documents,” the insurance regulator’s Chairman Debasish Panda told IANS.

Two private non-life insurers are directly involved in insuring the passengers who had booked their tickets on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd’s (IRCTC) online portal.

Passengers with confirmed tickets and who had opted for travel accident insurance while booking their tickets by paying a paltry Re 0.35 paise are provided with a death/permanent total disability insurance cover of Rs 10 lakhs.

In the case of permanent partial disability, the cover is Rs 7,50,000 and medical expenses up to Rs 2 lakhs are also claimable.

The IRCTC has selected the SBI General Insurance and Liberty General Insurance to offer the travel insurance cover.

In the case of death claim, the nominee or the legal heir has to submit a report of the Railway Authority confirming the accident of the train; report of the Railway Authority carrying the details of the passengers declared dead apart from NEFT mandate details, cancelled cheque, photo identity proof of the nominee, legal heir certificate along with the claim form.

The question that pops up is that how can a normal individual get the two reports from the Railway authority?

As per the policy condition, the claim has to be submitted within four months from the date of the accident.

As the tickets were booked through the IRCTC portal, IRCTC and the insurers will have the passenger details.

The concerned Railway authority can give the reports to IRCTC and the two insurers who in turn can settle the claim on receipt of other documents from the claimants, said an insurance industry official.

The legal heirs can also check the bank passbook of the passengers who had died or injured to see whether the bank had debited their account towards the premium for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (life insurance for Rs 2 lakhs) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident insurance for Rs 2 lakhs) and prefer a claim.

“The banks should have the facility of automatic alerts about the existence of the two policies — Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (life insurance for Rs 2 lakhs) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident insurance for Rs 2 lakhs) when the legal heir intimates the death of the account holder. Many times, the account holder or the legal heir is not aware of the insurance cover,” a senior insurance official told IANS.

It is learnt, the central government has asked the General Insurance Council and the Life Insurance Council Ato collect and submit data on the insurance coverage of the train accident victims.

While the Chairperson of the government owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced relaxation in the documents to be filed by the nominee/legal heirs of train accident victims, no such public announcements have been made by SBI General Insurance and Liberty General Insurance.

While Liberty General Insurance in its website has given a phone number and an email id for reporting a claim, no such information is available on the home page of SBI General Insurance or IRCTC’s website.

Similarly, no announcements like that of LIC seems to have come from private life insurers.

Source: IANS

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Source: Bureau

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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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