The panel will be headed by the chief commissioner of railway safety, South Eastern Circle. Investigators are looking into human error, signal failure and any other possible reason behind the crash that has also left over 1,000 injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the accident site on Saturday, has directed speedy investigation and prompt and stringent action against those held responsible. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who arrived in Balasore to oversee rescue operations, said that efforts to restore traffic were underway.
As many as 1,200 personnel, 200 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units, aside from members of the armed forces, including engineering and medical staff, were sent from Barrackpore and Panagarh in West Bengal. Two Mi-17 helicopters were deployed to evacuate injured passengers.
According to a preliminary investigation report seen by ET, some coaches of the Coromandel Express entered a loop line and hit a parked goods train. A senior railway ministry official told ET that some coaches of the Coromandel Express moving toward Chennai derailed and hit a stationary goods train parked on the loop line.
Other Coromandel Express coaches collided with the last two coaches of the Yesvantpur Express moving in the opposite direction toward Howrah (West Bengal) that was plying on a parallel track. Experts said signalling system issues could be involved. “Accident of the Coromandel Express appears to be an issue related to the signalling system. Both the train crews did not appear to have much margin to react and stop, but a detailed investigation of data loggers and station records will eventually establish the root cause of this unfortunate accident,” said Ravinder Gupta, former director general (safety), Railway Board. “It becomes more important than ever to fast-track signalling system improvements as we move towards faster trains.” Restoration initiated
Movement of around 150 trains was impacted due to Friday’s accident, with 90 being terminated. “The rescue operation has been completed. Now, we are starting the restoration work. Kavach was not available on this route,” said Amitabh Sharma, a spokesperson for Indian Railways. The Railways is in the process of installing Kavach, an anti-train collision system, across its network.
Kavach issues an alert when a train jumps a signal, the leading cause of collisions. The system can alert the locomotive pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it senses another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.
