After the Railway Board cited signalling error as the cause of the Odisha train accident, a purported internal letter from February 8 which cited “serious flaws” in the signalling system from Hosadurga, Karnataka, was shared by the Congress on Sunday, June 4. The letter, addressed to the Railway Ministry, urged them to monitor and correct the signalling system to avert serious accidents. The spokesperson of All India Trinamool Congress, Saket Gokhale, shared the letter on Twitter and wrote, “In Feb '23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged serious concerns on track and signalling safety after a major crash as narrowly prevented. His letter was ignored.” The opposition parties have blamed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for criminal negligence and sought his resignation.
New shocking fact on how Rail Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw's criminal negligence caused Odisha train crash:
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) June 5, 2023
In Feb '23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged SERIOUS concerns on track & signaling safety after a major crash was narrowly prevented
His letter was ignored
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According to the letter, the Sampark Kranti Express, Train Number 12649, was set to travel down a main line where a goods train was after a wrongful signalling intervention. The driver managed to “avert a major accident” after he noticed the error, the letter said.
Hari Shankar Verma, Principal Chief Operations manager of the South Western Railway, also noted in the letter that the route of dispatch was altered after the train was signalled correctly. “This contravenes the essence and basic principles of inter-locking,” he said.
He also noted that if all the procedures had been followed, the Station Master would have been alert and would have adopted the practices for a non-interlocked system, Hari said.
Alleging negligence, Saket Gokhale wrote that Ashwini Vaishnaw must resign immediately.
Mallikarjun Kharge, All India Congress Committee’s president and Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, also referred to the letter from February and asked Prime Minister Modi in a letter, “Why and how could the Ministry of Railways ignore this crucial warning?” The former Railway Minister also criticised the government for not implementing the anti-train-collision system (renamed as Kavach in 2022) which was tested in 2011 and added, “Unfortunately, the people in charge – your goodself (PM Modi) and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw – do not want to admit that there are problems.”
The devastating train accident in Odisha has shocked the nation.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 5, 2023
Today, the most crucial step is to prioritise installation of mandatory safety standards to ensure safety of our passengers
My letter to PM, Shri @narendramodi, highlighting important facts. pic.twitter.com/fx8IJGqAwk
Around 275 people have lost their lives in the Odisha train accident after the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express entered a loop line due to a signalling error and crashed into a stationary goods train. The SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, which was running four hours behind schedule, came in contact with the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express, which had infringed its line, unfolding one of the biggest train tragedies in the history of Indian Railways.