Railway Officer's Big Statement: Odisha Train Crash Not Caused By Signal Failure

An ongoing probe is underway to determine the cause of a tragic triple train accident in Balasore , Odisha. However, an inter-departmental disagreement has emerged regarding the cause of the mishap. A senior railway engineer who was involved in the "joint inspection report" has expressed dissenting views.

According to the officer, the tragedy was not a result of signal failure, as claimed in the inspection report. He referred to a "datalogger" report that indicated the signal was green for the ill-fated Coromandel Express to take the main line instead of the loop line . The officer, AK Mahanta, a senior engineer of signals and communications in Balasore, disagreed with the panel's conclusion that the accident occurred after the driver of the Coromandel Express was signalled to take the loop line and collided with a stationary goods train.

The joint inspection report stated, "Point No. 17A was found set for Up Loop Line (in reverse condition) of Bahanaga Bazar station." According to the report, setting the point in 'reverse' condition allows an approaching train to enter the loop line, while setting it in 'normal' condition indicates the train should take the main line. This is the point where the Coromandel Express entered the loop line. In his note, Mahanta disagreed with the report's mention that point No. 17A was set for the Up Loop line. He stated, "I did not agree with (the part of the report) which mentions that point No. 17A was found set for Up Loop line. Based on the observation from the datalogger report, point 17 was set for the normal side. It may be reverse (sic) after the derailment."

Earlier, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the tragedy occurred due to an issue with the "electronic interlocking system." Meanwhile, the Railway Board reported that preliminary findings indicated a problem with the signalling. Jaya Varma Sinha , Member of Operation and Business Development at the Railway Board, said in a press conference regarding the incident, “According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signalling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandel Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/hour.” The triple train accident in Balasore resulted in the loss of at least 278 lives and left over 1,000 individuals injured. The collision involved three trains: the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The Coromandel Express collided with a stationary goods train, causing most of its coaches to derail. Some coaches of the Coromandel Express also toppled onto the last few coaches of the passing Bengaluru-Howrah Express.