Odisha Triple Train Collision- The story unfolded!

‘This is the sight which I have never seen in life!’, a survivor said.

Destroyed families, Bodies without limbs, Blood stains on the entire train track! This tragedy has claimed 300 lives, with ~800 injured.

THE ACCOUNTABILITY??

To hold someone accountable, some important questions to be answered include,

1. How did the accident happen?
2. Should the Railway Minister resign as per the ongoing demand?
3. What happened to the KAVACH system launched by the Government and How can it prevent train accidents in future?
4. To be done?

Addressing one by one, The accident occurred at Bahanaga station in Balasore district, possessing 2 main lines and 2 loop lines.

The 12841 Shalimar Chennai Central Coromandel Express, called HOSPITAL EXPRESS, is famous for commuting lower middle class Bengalis to Tamil Nadu’s Vellore hospital and is therefore highly crowded.

It collided with Freight train in the loop line carrying Iron ore. What followed was a series of collisions and one of India’s most tragic Railway accident. What went wrong?

HOW TRAINS OPERATE?

Trains differ in their operation based on

1. Speed – Controlled by the Locomotive pilot (Train driver)
2. Track – controlled by Interlocking system ( Manual/Electronic)

The scenario in Odisha was that, the locomotive pilot confirmed that the signal was GREEN on the mainline & so he did not slowdown and was travelling with the speed of 128kmph.

Usually, If there is GREEN signal, then it is a YES on mainline. If the signal turns YELLOW, then the train has to divert itself to the loop line for the other fast trains succeeding it to pass by.

The problem with signaling was accompanied by the interlocking system switching its track towards loop line which is not suited for high speeds. Eventually, the Hospital Express collided with a Freight train carrying Iron ore on the loop line .

The Iron ore, with its stable centre of gravity did not move, resulting in huge frontal impact on the Coromandel Express, and subsequently successive coaches suffered. This was the reason behind increased death numbers.

20 minutes from the first crash, 13 coaches of Coromandel Express collided with last 3 coaches of Yesvanthpur Express, causing more deaths.

HOW DID THE ACCIDENT OCCUR IN A SYSTEM THAT IS USED A MILLION TIMES ACROSS INDIA?

According to preliminary investigation, the accident occurred due to the failure of electronic interlocking system, which is claimed to be Error-proof and a computer controlled system.

Similar accidents took place in 2005, when Sabarmati Express crashed with a Freight train on the loop line, whose reason is not yet known.

Thee only favorable thing in the accident was that, the collided trains had new LHB coaches. These are German coaches and has anti-telescopic safety design i.e., if an accident occurs for a train, the coaches get separated. This, in fact has saved the many lives in remaining coaches.

The KAVACH system?

It is ‘Make in India’ Automatic Train Protection system, with an objective to ensure Zero train accidents. It has Safety Integrity Level 4 which has the possibility of 1 error in 10000 years.

How does the system work?

Being used for high density routes, The system installed trains automatically applies brakes in 2 situations.

1. If the train doesn’t stop in Red light.
2. If 2 trains have a chance of collision on the same track.

The test run for the system has already been reviewed by The Railway Minister, in which the trains came to a halt when they were 40 meters apart!

Here, Both the trains did not have the KAVACH system installed. Even if present, this might not be a savior as it does not have the ability to change the track.

WAY FORWARD!

Indian Railways, being the 4^th largest railway network in the world has financial woes.

This is because of changing people’s preference to Airways/ Roadways for faster travel resulting in low passenger count. Decreased number of freight trains, High vacancies in Railway department ( There is a safety staff shortage of 16%) leading to overtime work for the existing employees.

As a whole, FUNDING and TECHNOLOGY are greater issues in Indian Railways.

According to former Railway Minister, Government must invest more in Railways without relying only on the Railway budget alone. This is because, major portion of the Indian population use trains like Hospital Express for commuting to places for their survival as it is affordable and best for many than Airways/ Roadways.

There should be area of focus based on their importance. At present, focus is on providing WIFi facilities and launching Vande Bharat trains across India. Although they are important, yet basic operations including safety and infrastructure are not to be forgotten.

Demanding resignation of a most qualified Minister without investigation would be injustice.

Sooner, Investigations will make people accountable for the incident to ensure justice is served to all the ~300 lives lost.