Odisha train accident: Three Indian Railways trains were involved in one of the world’s deadliest rail accidents, in which 275 people died and over 1175 railway passengers were injured. The incident took place on June 2, 2023 at 6.55 pm in Balasore district of the eastern Indian state of Odisha. As per preliminary investigation, the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, running at a speed of 128 kmph, rammed into a stationary goods train on the loop line, resulting in derailment of several coaches. The coaches then scattered onto the adjacent track and rammed into the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, which was running at a speed of 116 kmph.
While the freight train was carrying no people and was loaded with iron ore, it suffered little damage. However, the Coromandel Express, running at a speed of 128 kmph, rammed into a stationary goods train, causing maximum damage in the incident. On the other hand, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express suffered minimal damage as only two coaches were derailed.
The Indian Railways initially stated that 288 people had died in the incident, though later corrected the figure to 275 deaths. On the other hand, social media users and opposition parties are pressurizing the government to punish the culprits of the incident. Ashwini Vaishnav, India’s Railways Minister, who was among the first top politicians to reach the site, is overseeing the rescue and restoration work.
In a recent interview, Ashwini Vaishnav said that there is a fault in the electronic interlocking system behind the triple train accident. Various theories are floating on social media, but Indian Railways and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the “root cause” of the accident and the “culprits” responsible for it have been identified.
Odisha Train Accident: Causes
According to a PTI report, the Indian Railways on Sunday ruled out driver fault and system malfunction in a manner that indicated possible “sabotage” and tampering with the electronic interlocking system. Ashwini Vaishnav said, “This is due to electronic interlocking and changes made in the point machine.” Tampering with the electronic interlocking system meant that the Coromandel Express, which was running at a speed of 130 kmph, entered the loop line at a station where a goods train laden with iron ore was parked.
Loop lines of the Indian Railways are built in a station area – in this case, Bahanagar Bazar station – to accommodate more trains to ease operations. Loop lines are usually 750 meters long to accommodate a full-length freight train with multiple engines, reports PTI.
prone to sabotage
Top railway officials explained how the point machine and interlocking system works. He said the system is “error proof” and “fail safe”, but did not rule out the possibility of outside interference. “It is called a fail safe system, so it means that even if it fails, all the signals will turn red and all the trains will stop operating. Now, as the minister said that the signaling system has no The problem was. It could be that someone has dug without seeing the cables.
A senior railway official, who did not wish to be identified, said such tampering with the “logic” of the AI-based electronic interlocking system could only be “deliberate” and ruled out any fault in the system. A senior railway official said, “It could be a case of tampering or sabotage from within or outside. We have not ruled out anything.”
Authorities on Sunday gave a clean chit to the driver of the Coromandel Express, saying he had the green signal to proceed and was “not over-speeding”. It also indicated that there may have been a tampering, stating that the signal for train number 12841 (Coromandel Express) up main line was given and removed, train entered loop line, goods train was crushed and derailed. Meanwhile, train number 12864 passed on down main line and two of its coaches derailed and overturned.”
Pointing out that the two components mentioned by the minister are important for train operations, Sandeep Mathur, Principal Executive Director, Signaling, Railway Board, said that these two work in coordination to show the driver that the track is clear to proceed. Or not. “The signal is interlocked in such a way that it will show whether the line ahead is busy or not. It will also know whether the point is taking the train straight or towards the loop line.
He said, “When the point looks straight and the track ahead is not occupied the signal is green and if the point is carrying a train on a loop and the track is clear the signal is yellow and the route is shown in the other direction. ” He said that the interlocking system is a safe way of taking the train out of the station.
Point machine is an important equipment for railway signaling for quick operation and locking of point switches and plays a vital role in safe running of trains. Train movement is badly affected due to failure of these machines. Sinha said that the direction, route and signals were fixed for the Coromandel Express.
“Green signal means that by all means the driver knows that his way ahead is clear and he can proceed with his maximum speed permitted. The permitted speed on this section was 130 kmph and it can reach up to 128 kmph. was running his train at the speed which we have confirmed from the loco log,” he said.
investigation completed
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has completed its investigation at the spot. He is expected to meet witnesses as part of his questioning on Monday and Tuesday, reports PTI.
“The Commissioner of Railway Safety (South Eastern Circle) will conduct a statutory inquiry in connection with the derailment of 12841 Shalimar-Chennai at South Institute, Kharagpur on 05.06.2023 (Monday) and 06.06.2023 (Tuesday) from 09:00 hrs. Central Coromandel Express and 12864 SMVT Bengaluru – Howrah Superfast Express at Bahanga Bazar station near Balasore on 02.06.2023.
In a statement, the South Eastern Railway said, “Rail users, local public and other bodies may appear at the given time and place and make a statement before the Commission in respect of any information relating to the matter of the accident.”
other principles
Jaya Verma Sinha, a member of the Railway Board, said there were “multiple possibilities of what could go wrong”. In this someone may dig into the area through which the cables of the electronic system pass and damage them in the process, or short-circuit, or cause the machine to fail. “There is no chance of 99.9% machine failure, but 0.1% chance of failure,” he said.
“That possibility is always there in all kinds of systems.” He didn’t name the supplier or manufacturer or the age of the system. But said that it is in use almost throughout the Indian Railways network.