A month after the deadly train accident in Odisha that killed 294 people, an investigation by the Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS) has found lapses at multiple levels in the Signalling and Telecom (S&T) Department of the Indian Railways. The report said the tragedy could have been averted if ‘red flags’ were not ignored.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), which comes under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, submitted his report to the Railway Ministry last week. According to the CRS AM Chowdhary, who prepared the report, "The rear-collision was due to the lapses in the signalling-circuit-alteration carried out at the North Signal Goomty (of the station) in the past, and during the execution of the signalling work related to replacement of Electric Lifting Barrier for level crossing gate number 94 at the station,” the report said.
An Indian Express report said "the wrong labelling of wires inside the level-crossing location box remained undetected for years and ultimately led to a mix-up during maintenance work.” The 40-page report said the lapses resulted in wrong signalling to the Coromandel Express leading to the mishap.
The report also said that a similar incident of mismatch between the intended route set by signals, and actual route taken by train on May 16 this year at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Kharagpur division of the South Eastern Railway (SER), was on account of wrong wiring and faulty cable. "Had corrective measures been taken, after this incident, to address the issue of wrong-wiring, the accident at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station would not have taken place," the report said. The report also called for standard practices to be followed for carrying out signalling-modification work. The CRS has recommended that before taking up modification of the existing signalling circuits, functional tests of the existing circuits, under alteration, should be carried out to ensure that actual circuits are in accordance with the completion drawings.
It also said that any alteration to signalling circuits should be carried out with an approved circuit diagram, and in presence of an officer. A separate team should be deployed for checking and testing of modified signalling circuits and functions before restoration or re-connection of the work. The report also suggested that the station masters should be made aware of possible faulty conditions of the Electronic Interlocking (EI) system that could be detected through indications on the panel and these should also be listed and incorporated in the South Western Railway.
The report comes at a time when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also probing if there was any ‘sabotage’ that resulted in the Odisha train accident. The CBI inquiry was recommended by the Railway Board. IANS reports that the senior officials of the Railway Ministry remain tight-lipped over the CRS report.