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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There have been all sorts of theories floated on various social media platforms detailing how exactly the crash took place. However, preliminary investigations have revealed that the Coromandel Express train involved in the rail tragedy in Odisha on Friday entered the loop line and crashed into a goods train parked there instead of the main line just ahead of the Bahanagar Bazar station, reported PTI quoting a source.

What Caused The Accident?

As per a report submitted to the Railway Board, the Coromandel Express travelling from Shalimar to Chennai Central was at a speed of 128 kmph, when possible signalling failure sent the train to the loop line instead of the main line just ahead of the Bahanagar Bazar railway station. The express train then rear ended into a parked goods train on the loop line, resulting in 4-5 coaches to scatter on the adjacent track.

Around the same time, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was running at a speed of 116 kmph. The coaches of Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express capsized after crashing into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track.

The loop lines of the Indian Railways are constructed in a station area — in this case, the Bahanagar Bazar station — to accommodate more trains to ease out the operations. The loop lines are generally 750 metres in length to accommodate full-length goods train with multiple engines, reported PTI.

An eyewitness to the incident, Anubhav Das, also told PTI that local authorities and railway officials had initially indicated that the train he was travelling on — Coromandel Express — had rammed into the goods train. However, none of these accounts was officially confirmed by the railways. While a thorough probe is underway, none of the authorities has so far talked about any possibility of a sabotage.

While sources had earlier said a signalling failure could be the reason behind the crash, railway officials said it is not yet clear if Coromandel Express entered the loop line and hit the stationary goods train or it first derailed and then hit the parked train after entering the loop line. The preliminary probe report, a copy of which is with PTI, said the signal was given and taken off for the up main line for train number 12841 (Coromandel Express), the train entered the loop line, dashed with the goods train and derailed.

In the meantime, train number 12864 passed through the down main line and two of its coaches derailed and capsized, the report said. Sudhanshu Mani, the former general manager of the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai and the man who led the team that made the first Vande Bharat train, prima facie ruled out any error on the part of the two loco pilots involved in the tragedy and said the primary reason for the mass casualty is the first derailment and the unfortunate timing of the second passenger train, which came from the other direction at a very high speed.

Mani said if it was just the first train derailing, the LHB coaches would not have capsized and so many casualties would not have been reported. “Although the reason for the derailment of the first train cannot be a matter of conjecture, as of now, I do not see any evidence of an SPAD case, meaning the driver overriding signals. It was going on the correct path as the data logger shows that the signal was green,” Mani said.

KAVACH Anti-Collision Technology

The national transporter has also said anti-train collision system “Kavach” was not available on the route. The railways is in the process of installing “Kavach”, an anti-train collision system, across its network. “The rescue operation has been completed. Now, we are starting the restoration work. Kavach was not available on this route,” Indian Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said.

Kavach alerts when a loco pilot jumps a signal (Signal Passed at Danger — SPAD), which is the leading cause of train collisions. The system can alert the loco pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.

The Indian Railways has appointed A M Chowdhary, CRS, SE Circle to investigate the crash. The commissioner of railway safety works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and investigates all such accidents. “A M Chowdhary, CRS, SE Circle, will inquire into the accident,” a spokesperson of the Indian Railways said. The crash involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train.

Source: Bureau

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