Off track at Balasore

A CBI probe is puzzling

The swiftness in identifying the cause of the Odisha train accident, which resulted in the death of over 270 people, offers the Indian Railways an opportunity to address the problem quickly. As is mandatory, the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) will conduct an investigation and recommend ways to improve secure travel and prevent a repeat tragedy. The CRS is a statutory body and, significantly, operates independent of the Railway Board. Pre-independence, the Railway Inspectorate, as the CRS was then known, was placed under the Department of Posts and Air. Re-designated to its current name in 1961, it comes under the