Issue Related To Electronic Interlocking Root Cause, People Responsible Identified: Railway Minister On Odisha Train Accident

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the accident that claimed the lives of 288 passengers happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, while speaking to ANI, said that the commissioner of railway safety is probing the horrific accident and will submit a full report.

The minister said that root cause of the incident is clear and the people responsible for it have been identified.

“The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking,” Vaishnaw told ANI.

Vaishnaw also dismissed allegations by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comments about the accident. Banerjee had blamed the absence of anti-collision system which is why the train crashed.

Vaishnaw, who is on ground zero since Friday night supervising with rescue and relief operations as well as the railway track restoration efforts, said that the railway aims to complete restoration work on track by Wednesday.

The rescue and relief at the accident site is complete.

Over 1000 workers are working round-the-clock for early restoration. It has deployed more than 7 Poclain Machines, 2 Accident Relief Trains, 3-4 Railway and Road Cranes for resumption of rail traffic. The work on repairing tracks and overhead electric lines (OHE) is in progress.

Earlier in the day, the railway tracks had been cleared of wrecked railway coaches. In a statement, the South Eastern Railway (SER) zone said, “All 21 coaches which capsized and derailed have been grounded. Now the site is being cleared from Bogie/wheels sets and other components. 3 Goods Wagons and locomotive grounding work is going on. Track linking and OHE work is going on parallel.” The railway is also operating special trains for movement of survivors and relatives of the deceased.

As many as 288 people were killed fter the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Express, and a goods train collided near the Bahanaga Bazar station at 6.55 pm on Friday