Odisha Train Accident Report Released, Lapses In Signalling-Circuit-Alteration Caused The Tragedy

A tragic triple train accident occurred in Balasore, Odisha last June, with devastating consequences, resulting in over 293 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries. The Ministry of Railways has now revealed the findings from the Commissioner of Railway Safety's report, shedding light on the causes behind the incident.

The report, released for the first time in response to questions raised by MP Dr. John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha, identified signal errors as the root cause. It pointed to lapses in the signalling circuit alteration at North Signal Goomty station and during the execution of signalling work for the replacement of the Electric Lifting Barrier.

According to the report, the collision was a result of the errors made in the signalling-circuit-alteration process at North Signal Goomty and during the signalling work related to the replacement of the Electric Lifting Barrier for level crossing gate no. 94 at the station. These lapses led to a green signal being displayed for the wrong line, ultimately causing the collision between a moving train and a stationary goods train. The report said that this situation exposed significant lapses and negligence on the part of the railway authorities.

Even after this time, 41 passengers among the total 295 killed from the accident have yet to be identified, as revealed by the government.

In relation to this tragic incident, three Indian Railways employees, namely Arun Kumar Mahanta, Mohammed Amir Khan, and Pappu Kumar, were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier this month. They faced charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence. The accused are currently in judicial custody, and the next hearing is scheduled for July 27.

As the investigation is ongoing, it has come to light that a prior similar incident occurred due to wrong wiring and cable fault at Bankranayabaz station in the Kharagpur Division of South Eastern Railway on May 16, 2022. The CRS report suggests that corrective measures taken after this incident could have potentially prevented the tragedy in Balasore.

In response to the CRS report, the Congress party alleged that the Narendra Modi government has compromised significantly on basic railway safety issues, attributing this "human error" to a failure in management and political leadership.

Following the tragic event, the South Eastern Railway underwent a shake-up, resulting in the removal of Archana Joshi from her position as the General Manager, with Anil Kumar Mishra taking over as her successor.

The three trains involved in the accident were the Kolkata-Chennai Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train.