Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said here that the Baleswar train tragedy occurred due to change in electronic interlocking.
“The Commissioner Railway Safety has completed his inquiry and will submit the report soon. Let the investigation report come, but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it. It happened due to changes in electronic interlocking,” the Minister said.
But the person/s responsible for the change in electronic interlocking would be known during investigation, he said.
Vaishnaw, however, clarified that non-fitment of Kavach or anti-collision device had nothing to do with the accident.
He stated that the track restoration work was going on full swing and would be completed by Wednesday morning.
In New Delhi, a Railway Board official said a preliminary inquiry into the Baleswar train tragedy has revealed a problem with the signalling system leading to the terrible accident.
Railway Board Member Jaya Varma Sinha, who is responsible for Operations and Business Development, informed that the board has set up an independent inquiry.
She said, “However, we are still awaiting a comprehensive report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety.”
She said the Coromandel Express was running at a speed of 128 KMPH while the Yaahwantpur Express (Bengaluru-Howrah) was moving at 126 KMPH. There was no over-speeding as both trains are allowed to travel at a maximum speed of 130 KMPH.
Sinha informed that only the Coromandel Express was involved in the accident and fell on the down-line (the main line), on which the Yashwantpur Express was approaching.
She explained that the Coromandel Express collided with an iron ore-laden goods train. The impact of the collision was so strong that the Coromandel Express coaches split and fell onto the railway tracks while the goods train didn’t even budge. Meanwhile, the Yashwantpur Express was also approaching on another track when the coaches of the Coromandel Express fell. The Yashwantpur Express had almost passed, but within a fraction of a second, its last two coaches collided with the detached coaches of the Coromandel Express.
Sinha informed that those responsible for the tragedy have been identified. But she didn’t reveal their names as a detailed report was awaited.
She said it was expected that two railway lines would be operational by 8 pm on Sunday. However initially, the trains are expected to operate at reduced speed.