Train Accidents in India Caused by Signaling System Errors
New Delhi, MINA – The derailment of a train in eastern India last Friday has now killed around 300 people and injured 900 others. The cause of this train accident is suspected to be caused by an error in the electronic signaling system.
The error in the signaling system has caused the train to change the wrong track, the Indian Minister of Railways said on Sunday, reported by The Associated Press.
“Who did it and what the reasons are will emerge from an investigation,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with New Delhi television network
The explanation came as authorities worked to clear the debris of two passenger trains that derailed late Friday in the Balasore district of eastern Odisha state. India records this accident as one of the deadliest rail accidents in the country in recent decades.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency previously reported that initial investigations revealed that a signal was given to the Coromandel Express Train to enter the main rail line, but the signal was later revoked. The train entered another line, known as the ring line, and hit a freight train parked there, PTI said.
Fifteen corpses were found on Saturday night and evacuation efforts continued overnight, while towing the heavy train body, to remove the engine that was above the train cars. “No body was found in the machine and this work was completed on Sunday morning,” said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of fire and emergency services in Odisha.
The accident occurred at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was focused on modernizing India’s British colonial-era rail network. Where the rail network in India has made it a mainstay for citizens in the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people.
Despite government efforts to improve rail service and safety in the country, hundreds of accidents occur every year on these railroads. India is a country with the largest railway network in the world, which is under the management of a state company.
The tragic accident incident occurred on Friday (2/6/2023), the night when rescue workers climbed onto the crushed train. Rescue workers tried to open doors and windows using welding tools, in order to try to save passengers who were still trapped in the train cars.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday (3/6/2023), visited the crash site to inspect the relief efforts and give his statement to the rescuers. He also visited a hospital where injured survivors were being treated.
Modi asked doctors about the treatment being given to the injured, and spoke to some of the patients. Modi told reporters he felt the pain of those who suffered in the accident.
“The government will do its best to help them and strictly punish anyone found responsible,” Modi said.
Ten to 12 cars from one train set derailed, and debris from some of the destroyed cars fell onto nearby tracks. The wreckage of the train was scattered after the carriage was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction.
“The collision of another passenger train caused three carriages of the second train to derail,” said Amitabh Sharma, a spokesman for the Ministry of Railways.
In 1995, two trains collided near New Delhi, killing 358 people in one of India’s worst train accidents. In 2016, a passenger train again derailed the tracks between the cities of Indore and Patna, killing 146 people.
Most of India’s train accidents are caused by human error or out of date signaling equipment. More than 12 million people ride the 14,000 rail movements across India every day, this is our journey of 64,000 kilometers. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
