Signalling Failure Or Human Error: What Caused Odisha Train Accident, Check What Preliminary Probe Finds

Odisha Train Accident: The preliminary report stated that the signal was given and taken off for the up main line for 12841, but the train entered into a loop line and clashed with the goods train.

Updated: June 3, 2023 5:47 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Manmath Nayak

PM Modi on Saturday arrived at the accident site in Odisha to take stock of the situation.
PM Modi on Saturday arrived at the accident site in Odisha to take stock of the situation. Photo: PTI

Odisha Train Accident Latest News: After the massive train tragedy that has claimed more than 260 lives so far in Odisha’s Balasore district, questions are being raised about possible operational lapses that could have contributed to the big accident. Two collisions took place in Balasore between three trains on Friday, leaving a mass of wrecked compartments and coaches on top of one another.

Passenger train Coromandel Express derailed after hitting a parked goods train and another train, Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast, crashed into the derailed coaches.

Signalling Failure Main Cause of Train Accident

However, the preliminary report by a joint inspection stated that the Odisha train accident was a result of ‘signalling failure’.

The report stated that the signal was given and taken off for the up main line for 12841, but the train entered into a loop line and clashed with the goods train which was on up loop line and derailed.

The report further stated that train number 12864 passed through on the DW (downward main line and two coaches were derailed. The massive train tragedy has killed at least 261 people and injured more than 900.

Earlier in the day, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the train accident site in Odisha’s Balasore and said the main focus was the rescue and relief operations.

PM Modi Reaches Train Accident Site in Balasore

PM Modi on Saturday arrived at the accident site in Odisha to take stock of the situation. He landed in an Air Force chopper near the site of the incident at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.

Later in the day, he will visit the injured at the Balasore District Hospital to meet the crash survivors.

Ahead of his visit, PM Modi convened a meeting to review the situation in connection with the rail accident.

The accident involved two passenger trains- Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district. Seventeen coaches of the passenger trains have been de-railed and severely damaged in the accident that took place on Friday evening.

Seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Teams, five Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) Units and 24 Fire Services and Emergency Units engaged in rescue operations.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Mi-17 helicopters for the evacuation of the deceased and injured. According to the Eastern Command, IAF is coordinating the rescue efforts with the civil administration and Indian Railways.

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