Ashwini Vaishnaw holds meetings with officials, after returning from Odisha

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who returned to Delhi from Balasore in Odisha after reviewing the rescue and restoration work following the triple train accident, is holding a series of high-level meetings with officials here.

He is scheduled to speak to general managers of all zonal railways later in the evening through video conferencing, sources said.

Sources said that the meeting focused on safety drills in zones with a special focus on signalling and telecom across the railway network.

The train accident in Balasore involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying over 2,500 passengers, and goods train laden with iron ore occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.

At least 278 people were killed and more than 900 were injured in the accident.