Page 12 - Train Accident

TMC, BJP exchange barbs over Odisha's Balasore triple train accident

A war of words between the TMC and BJP over the triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore intensified Sunday, with TMC reiterating its demand for the resignation of railway minister Ashwani Vaishnaw and BJP reminding the party that railway accidents had occurred during Mamata Banerjee term as railway minister. TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh tweeted Sunday, that the Balasore train pile up reveals that anti-collision devices have not been fitted to trains and cannot be compared to an accident which happened during Banerjee's watch at Rail Bhavan. "The Balasore train accident must not be conflated with the Jnaneswari Express derailment incident the former exposes the lack of anti-collision devices, while the latter involved Maoist activities, which, thanks to Hon'ble CM @MamataOfficial's proactive measures and strategic approach, are a thing of the past," Ghosh tweeted. The TMC had made the demand for Vaishnaw's resignation on Saturday, to which an angry BJP's Suvendu ...

Virtual clean chit to Coromandel Express driver, was not over-speeding

The railways on Sunday said the Coromandel Express was "not over-speeding" and received the green signal to enter a loop line on which a goods train was stationary, virtually clearing its driver of any role behind the accident that killed 288 people in Odisha's Balasore district. Two key officials of the Railway Board -- Principal Executive Director of Signalling Sandeep Mathur and Member of Operation and Business Development Jaya Varma Sinha -- explained how the accident might have occurred. They described the functioning of the interlocking system which prima facie seemed to have been part of the problem which led to the accident, in which at least 288 people were killed. Sinha said the direction, route and signal were set for the Coromandel Express. "Green signal means that in every way the driver knows that his path ahead is clear and he can go forward with his permitted maximum speed. The permitted speed at this section was 130 kmph and he was running his train at 128 kmph whi

Odisha train accident: UK Foreign Secretary expresses condolences

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the Odisha train tragedy which left over 280 people dead. The crash in Odisha's Balasore district involving three trains is one of the worst rail accidents in India in nearly three decades. The accident on Friday left over 280 people dead and more than 1,100 others injured. Tragic news of the train crash in India. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. My thoughts are with the survivors and emergency services, said Cleverly. Lord Tariq Ahmad, the UK Foreign Office Minister for South Asia who has just returned from a visit to India, also took to social media over the weekend to express his solidarity. Distressing scenes and reports from #OdishaTrainAccident in #India which has already claimed the lives of close to 300 people and with many injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted as well as the emergency teams working on this tragic accident, ...

Odisha train tragedy: Initial probe indicates flaws in signalling system

She further explained that only the Coromandel Express was involved in the accident and fell on the down-line (the main line) on which the Yashwantpur Express was approaching

Train crash: PIL seeks to set up inquiry commission under retired SC judge

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge to probe the cause of the train accident in Odisha's Balasore district that has left 288 people dead. The plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari also sought directions to the Centre to immediately set up an expert commission headed by retired judge of the apex court and consisting of technical members to analyse and review the risk and safety parameters in the railway system and to suggest systematic safety modifications for strengthening Railway safety mechanism and submit its report to the court. The plea submitted that non-implementation of Kavach system at the earliest has resulted in a massive loss of life and damage of public property which imputes direct liability of gross negligence and breach of duty of care by respondent authorities. The enquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge should conclude its probe in two ..

Bangladeshi diplomat visits hospitals to look for injured train passengers

A senior Bangladeshi diplomat, Sheikh Marefat Ali Islam, on Sunday visited Soro Hospital in Odisha's Balasore district to provide consular assistance to Bangladeshi passengers injured in the triple train crash. Islam told PTI that few Bangladeshi passengers were recuperating in different hospitals in Odisha but there was no news of death of any citizen of that country in the crash. One Bangladeshi passenger admitted at a Bhadrak hospital was discharged after treatment. Another has been referred to SCB Medical College in Cuttack. On Saturday, I had visited a Balasore hospital, he said. If there's any information on injured Bangladeshi patients, please dial our deputy high commission at Kolkata - 9038353533, Marefat, second secretary in the Bangladesh deputy high commission which looks after eastern India, added. Several unclaimed bodies are lying in a few hospitals in Bhubaneswar. We will have to find out if there are any Bangladeshis among them, he added. He thanked the Odisha ...

Change in electronic interlocking caused train accident: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The root cause of the three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore district and the people responsible for it have been identified, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday as rescue work at the site of the accident ended with the Railways aiming to restore normal services on the affected tracks in the next few days. As the tragedy triggered a debate over the Kavach anti-collision system, the Congress demanded the resignation of the railway minister and asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped system nationwide, after testing. Vaishnaw maintained that the train crash had nothing to do with the Kavach system. The change that was done to electronic interlocking which led to the accident has been identified, Vaishnaw, who has been camping at the site of the train accident along with Union Minister Dharmendar Pradhan, said. He said the issue is of electric point machine, a vital device for railway signalling, and electronic interlocking. "The setting of the point

Death toll in triple train accident stands at 275, says Odisha govt

The Odisha government on Sunday said the death figure in the tragic triple train accident at Bahanaga station in Balasore stood at 275

Odisha tragedy: South Central Railway announces cancellation of more trains

The South Central Railway (SCR) has announced cancellation of few more trains due to train disaster in Odisha in Kharagpur-Bhadrak section of South Eastern Railway.

Our responsibility to establish normalcy: Pradhan on Odisha train accident

Union Minister of Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the Odisha triple accident

Balasore train accident: Track laying work done on one of two main lines

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who took stock of the restoration work at the Balasore train accident site in Odisha on Sunday said that track laying has ben done on one of the two main lines

'Electronic interlocking' behind Balasore train accident: Railway Minister

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore occurred due to a "change in electronic interlocking"

Odisha train tragedy: List of injured, deceased passengers put on websites

To facilitate smooth identification of victims of the Balasore train mishap, the Odisha government has uploaded the details of passengers on three websites

Help desk at Bhubaneswar civic body office to assist Balasore victims

A help desk has been set up at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Sunday to provide assistance to train accident victims in Odisha's Balasore

Train tragedy: State to run special train from Bhadrak to Chennai today

As the restoration work after the horrific thee-train accident in Odisha's Balasore is underway, the State government said on Sunday that a special train will run from Bhadrak to Chennai at 1According to officials, this special train is being run to facilitate the victims and other passengers who were destined to go to Chennai but got stuck in Odisha after the accident on Friday night.The train will have stoppages at CTC, BBSR and all major places enroute. It will also have a parcel van attached to carry dead body, if required."A special train will start from Bhadrak at 1 pm and will run to Chennai. It will have stoppages at CTC, BBSR and all major places enroute. The train will also have a parcel van attached to carry the dead body if required," the Information and Public Relations (I & PR) department of the Odisha government said in a tweet on Sunday.Earlier, a special train from Balasore carrying passengers affected by the horrific accident and derailment on Friday, arrived ..

Odisha train tragedy: CM Patnaik announces Rs 5 Lakh ex-gratia to families

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of the people from the state killed in the train accident

Odisha train accident: Railways Minister Vaishnaw inspects restoration work

Railways Minister inspected the restoration work at Balasore where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved in a major accident, leaving 288 passengers dead, injuring over 1,000 people

PM Modi expresses gratitude to world leaders for condolence messages

Prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed gratitude to the world leaders for their condolence messages on the Odisha train accident, saying that he was "deeply moved" by their kind words

Digvijaya Singh asks Ashwini Vaishnaw to resign after Odisha train accident

Digvijaya Singh have demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's resignation in the wake of the triple train tragedy in Odisha that claimed lives of 288 passengers

UN Secy-General saddened by loss of life, injury in Odisha train accident

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed sadness at the loss of lives in the tragic train accident in Odisha that has killed over 280 people and injured hundreds more. The crash in Odisha's Balasore district involving three trains is one of the worst rail accidents in India in nearly three decades. The accident on Friday left at least 288 people dead and over 1,100 injured. The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the loss of life and injury in a train accident in Odisha, India, a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said on Saturday. Guterres extended his deep condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the people and Government of India. He wished a swift and full recovery to those who were injured, the statement added. UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi had also condoled the tragic train crash, saying he is deeply saddened to hear the news of the train crash in Odisha, India. Korosi said that his ..