BALASORE: India’s Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, revealed on Sunday that the tragic train derailment in eastern India, which resulted in the death of over 300 people and left hundreds injured, was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system.
The system failure led a train to incorrectly switch tracks, leading to the devastating collision, marking one of the deadliest rail accidents in the country in decades.
During an interview with New Delhi Television network, Minister Vaishnaw stated, “Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation.” Authorities are now focused on the arduous task of clearing the wreckage left by the two passenger trains that derailed on Friday night in Balasore district, located in the eastern state of Odisha.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the high-speed Coromandel Express was initially signaled to enter the main track line but later received a conflicting signal, diverting it onto an adjacent loop line where it collided with a goods train.
The impact caused the coaches of the Coromandel Express to veer onto another track, leading to the derailment of the incoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the opposite direction, resulting in a three-train collision.
Indian Train Crash
The two passenger trains were carrying a total of 2,296 people at the time of the accident. Goods trains are often parked on adjacent loop lines to keep the main line clear for passing trains.
Efforts to recover the bodies and clear the wreckage have been ongoing since the incident. Over the weekend, heavy cranes were employed to remove an engine that had settled on top of a rail car. Sudhanshu Sarangi, director-general of fire and emergency services in Odisha, confirmed that no bodies were found in the engine, and the work was completed on Sunday morning.
The tragedy occurred against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on modernizing India’s railway network, which is the largest in the world under a single management. Despite the government’s efforts to improve rail safety, India continues to witness several hundred accidents each year.
The scene at the crash site on Friday night was chaotic, with rescuers tirelessly working to save those trapped inside the mangled rail cars. Prime Minister Modi visited the site on Saturday to assess the relief efforts, interact with rescue officials, and meet with injured victims at a nearby hospital. He expressed his empathy for those affected by the accident and assured that the government would provide all necessary assistance while ensuring strict punishment for those found responsible.
The derailment of ten to twelve coaches from one train led to debris falling onto a nearby track, subsequently struck by another passenger train traveling in the opposite direction, causing additional coaches to derail.
In the past, India has experienced major train accidents, including a collision near New Delhi in 1995 that claimed 358 lives and a derailment between Indore and Patna in 2016, resulting in the death of 146 people. Many train accidents in India are attributed to human error or outdated signaling equipment.
With more than 12 million people relying on India’s extensive railway network, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track, the need for comprehensive safety measures and modernization remains paramount.
