3rd train mishap in 4 months: Rail safety in question as 14 dead in Andhra

Human error led to overshooting of signal by loco pilot: Railways

The death toll in the rear-end collision between two passenger trains in Andhra Pradesh rose to 14 and the number of injured stood at 50.

The Sunday evening accident was the third fatal railway mishap in the past four months.

Between the deadly triple-train crash in Balasore in June, the derailment in Buxar earlier this month, and the latest accident in Vizianagaram, over 310 people have died and more than 1,100 people have been injured.

On Monday, the East Coast Railway, the zone where the accident took place, said tracks had been restored and movement of the first passenger train took place in the afternoon.

On Sunday evening, around 7:10 pm, the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger special (08504) collided with the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger train (08532). Among the dead were three crew members, including the loco pilot S M S Rao, along with the additional loco pilot and guard.

According to a prima facie probe, it is a case of signal passed at danger (SPAD) by the Rayagada special train’s loco pilot, railway officials said. According to reports, a prima facie statement on the accident claimed that the train should have stopped at the defective auto signals for two minutes, and then started off at 10 kilometres per hour (kmph), which it failed to do.

Experts said a full investigation needed to take place as it was unlikely that the loco pilot missed the red signal due to common reasons like visibility or lack of attention, since the accident took place in the evening, ruling out fog or drowsiness on late night duty.

“We cannot depend on Kavach (automatic train protection system) where the progress, in spite of all the noise made, is around 1 per cent of the total network,” said Lalit Chandra Trivedi, former general manager of the Indian Railways.

He said duty hours of the crew should be checked for the last week and it should be analysed whether hours of employment regulations (HOER) were followed in this case.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has been monitoring the situation from the war room at the ministry of railways. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those killed, Rs 2.5 lakh each for grievously injured, and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries.

The accident has caused severe backlash for the national transporter, with political leaders demanding increased accountability.

“It seems that all the claims of safety by the government after the Balasore train tragedy have evaporated in thin air. The same enthusiasm of flagging trains with fanfare and propaganda should also be shown in action towards railway safety and the well-being of crores of daily passengers,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on social media.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who conducted an aerial survey of the accident site and met the injured earlier on Monday, raised questions on the failure of signaling, braking, and communications systems.

The All India Loco Running Staff Association has called for a deeper analysis of the circumstances that led to the overshooting of signals by the loco pilot. 

The association’s central organising secretary, V Balachandran, questioned the station master’s actions in communications with the train crew and the inadequacy of skilling in relation to the automatic block system of the railways.

“Without any valid reason, the loco pilot will not run at normal speed. So what made him run at normal speed is to be analysed. Inadequate training on a newly changed system of working is a valid reason for all involved staff also has been highlighted. Let us wait for an inquiry,” he said.