A preliminary railway probe into the Sunday night accident in Andhra Pradesh has held the driver and the assistant driver of Rayagada Passenger train responsible for the collision as it passed two defective auto signals violating norms. Both crew members were killed in the accident.

Signed by seven experts, the preliminary report said they carefully examined the accident site, available evidence, statements of officials concerned, data logger report and the speedometer chart. It concluded that the Rayagada passenger train (08504) hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train (08532) from the rear due to the crew of the former passing two defective auto signals.

“Hence, LP (loco pilot), S M S Rao, ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot) of Train no 08504 (Rayagada Passenger train) held responsible,” the report said. According to the railway norm, the train should have stopped for two minutes at the defective auto signals and then started at 10 kmph which it didn’t do, leading to the collision, the report said.

The Rayagada Passenger train hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa Ttrain from behind at 7 pm on October 29 on the Howrah-Chennai line in Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, killing 14 and injuring over 50 train passengers.

Waltair Divisional Railway Manager Saurabh Prasad of the East Coast Railway Zone (ECR) confirmed the death of the guard.

Officials of the East Coast Railway (ECR) said at around 7 pm on Sunday, the Palasa Passenger train hit the Rayagada Passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 km from here, causing three coaches to derail.

Prasad said that all the affected coaches have been looked into and the locomotive was being lifted to see for a final round of checking by the NDRF if any bodies are still trapped inside the coaches or the locomotive or in the mangled mess.

Five coaches plus the locomotive got mangled. Three coaches were of the train which was ahead (Palasa Passenger) and two coaches and the engine were of the Rayagada passenger, the DRM said.

He noted that the clearance of tracks is also underway. As part of the clearance work, Prasad said two coaches were taken away and the third coach is also being tackled presently, adding that train movement could be restored today.

Further, Prasad said four OHE masts, railway electrical infrastructure, have been damaged at the accident site, spanning all the three lines.  Following the accident, several trains have either been cancelled or diverted or rescheduled by East Coast Railway and South Central Railway.