‘Coromandel Express entered loop line instead of main line’
| Date :04-Jun-2023 |
NEW DELHI,
Preliminary investigations have revealed that a signal was given to Coromandel Express to enter the main line but it was taken off and the train entered the loop line, where it crashed into a goods train parked there just ahead of the Bahanagar Bazar station. The coaches of Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express capsized after crashing into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track. While Coromandel Express was at a speed of 128 kmph, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express was running at a speed of 116 kmph. The report has been submitted to the Railway Board, sources said. 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. The two trains were carrying around 2,000 passengers.
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. The national transporter has initiated a high-level probe into the train crash in Odisha’s Balasore, which will be headed by the commissioner of railway safety, South Eastern Circle, officials said. The Commissioner of railway safety works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and investigates all such accidents.
The crash involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train. “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. The railways is in the process of installing “Kavach”, an anti-train collision system, across its network. 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. Odisha, TN declare one-day state mourning: ODISHA Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared one-day state mourning on Saturday in view of the horrific train crash.
TAMIL Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday announced a one-day state mourning for those who died in the devastating train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district the previous night. Stalin also announced that all the State Government programmes, events and centenary celebrations of late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, which were scheduled for Saturday, remains cancelled.