Train services have resumed on the Howrah-Chennai route which on Friday night witnessed a catastrophic train crash killing 275 and injuring above 1,000 passengers aboard Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express.
The train services started nearly 51 hours of the tragic incident following completion of restoration work on Sunday night.
A coal-laden goods train from the Vizag Port in Andhra Pradesh started its journey towards the Rourkela Steel Plant at around 10.40 pm on Sunday night. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw remained present at the spot during the resumption of the services.
The goods train ran on the same track where the ill-fated Bangalore-Howrah train had met with the deadly accident.
Taking to Twitter, Vaishnaw announced the resumption of services on the track and wrote, "Down-line restoration complete. First train movement in section.”
Barely two hours after the restoration of the down line, the up line had also been restored.
An empty goods train was the first one to run on the up line of the accident-affected section. This is the same track on which the Coromandel Express was running before it entered into the loop line to crash into a stationary goods train.
"Three trains have left from the section (two down and one up) and we have planned to run around seven tonight. We have to take this entire section towards normalisation. Our objective is to ensure that all the missing persons' family members find them as soon as possible. Our responsibility is not over yet," said Vaishnaw.
The Indian Railways has started running passenger trains on the tracks which were affected by the accident.
Meanwhile, three days after the tragedy, Railway Safety Commissioner Shailesh Kumar Pathak on Monday visited the accident site and took stock of the situation.
After reaching the spot, he visited the station signal room, control room and interacted with the officials present there.
“The Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle has already initiated a probe. He is doing his independent enquiry. Once the report is received, the findings will be intimated to you,” said Pathak.
When asked whether the failure of the signal system can be attributed to the tragedy, he parried the question and said, “It is too early to say anything about it.”
Notably, the Railway Board has recommended for an inquiry by the CBI as a conspiracy behind this mishap can’t be ruled out.