Emergency brake cannot be cause of accident,say officials

Another official also echoed similar views when asked about another theory that the driver applied the brakes after a sudden appearance of a herd of animals on the track. “There is no evidence of any herd of animals. But even so,the emergency brakes applied should not lead to such a major derailment,” he said.

Also,the possibility some other technical reasons leading to the accident cannot be ruled out.

The incident occurred at a point where the train was entering the small station from its East Cabin. With no scheduled stop,the train was likely to pass through the main line. There may have been a fault in routing the train properly,officials felt. However,they maintained that the real reasons could be ascertained only after a proper inquiry.

Sandeep Mathur,the chief PRO of North Central Railway,said so far the driver has only been able to tell that he was not aware of what exactly happened. “He has been questioned but has not been able to shed much light on what happened. He too is injured and cannot be questioned consistently. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (East) will conduct an inquiry and only then the reasons could be ascertained,” said Mathur,adding the inquiry would officially begin on July 13.