New Delhi:
The Railway Board today detailed the events that led to the catastrophic. Triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday night that left at least 275 dead. And over 1,000 injured. Railway Minister Ahswini Vaishnab said the accident was caus by a problem with. The “electronic interlocking system”.
Balasore’s Bahanaga Bazar station, where. The fatal accident took place, is a four-line station. The railways explained, with two main lines in the middle and two loop lines on either side. Both loop lines had freight trains carrying iron ore.
Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express was going to Howrah from.
Chennai and Bangalore-Howrah Superfast Express was coming from Howrah. Both main lines had green signals. Coromandel Express was traveling at a speed of 128 kmph and another passenger train was. Traveling at a speed of 126 kmph. The limit is 130 kmph, so none of them were over-speeding, said Jaya Verma Sinha. Member, Operations & BD, Railway Board.
A signaling problem has been Kavach detected, he said, adding that details will. Be known only after further investigation. Ms. Sinha said the reaction time at such a high spe was very short. “There was a signal interference,” he said, adding that it would not be accurate to call it a failure. The Railway Board has echoed the Railway Minister’s claim. That these are only preliminary findings, and nothing definite. Can be said until the formal inquiry is over.
Ms. Sinha insist that only one train, the Coromandel Express, and not three. As had been speculat, had suffered an accident.
“For some reason, that train met with an accident, and the engine and coach went over it,” he said. It collided with a goods train full of iron ore located on one of the loop lines. He explained, claiming that the goods train absorbed all the shock of the accident. Because it was so heavy. The coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed on the third track and. Hit several coaches of the speeding train from Howrah, Ms. Sinha said.
“There were Link Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches, they are very safe,” he said. Adding that the damage was made worse by the iron ore.
The railways said that developed automatic train protection system “Kavach” was. Not available on the route where the accident took place on Friday evening.
Ms. Sinha, dismissing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s question. About Kavach’s absence, reiterated the Railway Minister’s claim that Kavach had. Nothing to do with the accident as it would not have helped prevent such an accident. No technology in the world can avoid some. Accidents, he said citing the example Kavach of a sudden stone falling in front of a vehicle.
The system warns when a loco pilot jumps a signal (Signal Passed at Danger — SPAD). Which is one of the main causes of train collisions. The system can alert the loco pilot, control the brakes and stop the train when it. Detects another train on the same line within a specified distance.
