Odisha Train Accident Highlights:
With the rescue operations winding down, the focus has shifted from the living to the dead — and how to identify them. The state government has also decided to conduct forensic tests of unidentified bodies at the State Forensic Science Laboratory. Explaining why the school was chosen to house the bodies initially, officials said it is close to the site of the accident, and its classrooms and halls offer enough open space.
“At least 163 bodies were brought here, of which around 30 have been identified by relatives so far,” said Arvind Agarwal, director of the women and child welfare department, who has been at the premises since Friday night.
MUST READ | School becomes morgue, identifying dead a big challenge
NDRF jawan Venkatesan N K was on board the Coromandel Express, travelling to his hometown in Tamil Nadu, when he heard what sounded like a bomb going off and saw a child slipping from a mother’s grasp in the B-7 coach Friday evening. That was the moment the Coromandel Express derailed.
Venkatesan was among the first responders. The 39-year-old jumped out, and then turned around to rescue those trapped inside the coaches. He managed to pull out a few people and then decided to inform his senior who in turn alerted the NDRF brass.
On Sunday night, the first train movement took place on the down line in Bahanaga. According to the Railways, it took 51 hours, with over 1,000 workers toiling through the night, to get the stretch ready. The trial run using a goods train took place in presence of Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. A fitness report was also given to the minister about the up line and a trail run on that is expected shortly too.
Nearly three in four of 217 “consequential train accidents” across the country between 2017-18 and 2020-21 were caused by derailments, according to an audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
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The report — Performance Audit on Derailment in Indian Railways — was tabled in Parliament in December 2022. It shows that the major factor responsible for derailments was related to “maintenance of tracks”.
It stated that allotment of funds for track renewal works declined over the years and even these funds were not “fully utilised”. Harikishan Sharma writes..
? Altogether 260 people, who were injured in the triple train accident in Balasore, are currently undergoing treatment in various hospitals across Odisha, while around 900 have been discharged so far, health department officials said on Sunday.
? "Across the state, around 900 patients, out of 1,175 injured passengers in the train accident, have been discharged. A total of 260 injured are currently undergoing treatment in different hospitals, including private ones, in Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak, Soro and Jajpur.
? At least 202 people injured in the accident have been admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Dr Bhubananda Maharana, the emergency officer, said. (PTI)
Direct contact is yet to be established with only six persons from the state vis-a-vis the Odisha train accident, the Tamil Nadu government said on Sunday while over a 100 survivors arrived in Chennai by a special train from Bhadrak.
On his arrival here following a visit to Odisha along with Transport Minister SS Sivasankar to coordinate rescue activities, Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said they did not find any one from TN in any hospital in the eastern state being treated for injuries.
Udhayanidhi and Sivasankar visited hospitals, mortuary, and a call centre as well set up by Odisha for rescue initiatives. (PTI)
The collision in Balasore, Odisha, on June 2, between two express passenger trains and a stopped freight train, is perhaps the deadliest train accident on record in the last 20 years. It resulted in 275 fatalities, according to the most recent official statistics, and more than 1,000 injuries. The last train accident with so many fatalities occurred in Tanzania on June 24, 2002, when a passenger train and a freight train collided on a hill railway, leaving 281 people dead.
The seriousness of the rail safety situation in India can be understood by considering the following facts. Accidents involving passenger trains are extremely uncommon in countries with developed railway systems like Japan, China, Turkey, and several European nations like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In these railways, most passenger trains travel at a maximum speed of 200–350 kmph, clocking an average speed of 150–250 kmph, which is three to five times faster than the speed in India, which is roughly 50 kmph. Despite the slow speed of trains, fatal train accidents happen frequently in India.
India would probably place slightly higher than Egypt, Mexico, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Pakistan if a ranking of the world’s major railways were to be made based on safety performance. (Read More)
As many as 137 survivors of the train accident in Odisha arrived in Chennai on Sunday by a special train from Bhadrak, authorities said.
Following screening procedure, medical examination was conducted for 36 passengers and one person has been admitted as in-patient at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here.
All others have been sent home following examination. Some were treated for minor injuries, an official release said.
The passengers of the train accident were received at the Dr MGR Chennai Central railway station by Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran and Health Minister Ma Subramanian and top state officials. (PTI)
"There is no doubt that the accident took place due to sheer negligence of the railways. They are not bothered about the safety of the passengers. It is quite surprising that even after such a major accident, nobody in the government has taken any responsibility," said Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav
"A thorough investigation must be ordered and strict action should be taken against those responsible. After this tragic incident, PM Modi should have held a press conference and clarified things. The incident is a total failure of the Government of India, the railway minister, and the PM," he added. (PTI)
East Coast Railway has decided to run three Special trains between Puri and Howrah.
? 02801 Puri Howrah Special from Puri will leave at 1900hrs (07.00p.m.) and will run via Jakhapura-Kendujhargarh-Dongoaposi-Kharagpur route. This train will provide stoppages at Sakhigopal, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jakhapura, Harichandanpur, Keonjhargarh, Dongoaposi, Tata and Kharagpur between Puri and Howrah having Two Sleeper Class, Six Second Class Chair Car and Two Guard cum Second Class Seating Coaches.
? 02803 Puri Howrah Special from Puri will leave at 2100hrs (09.00p.m.) and will run via Cuttack-Angul-Sambalpur City-Jharsuguda route. This train will provide stoppages at Sakhigopal, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur City, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Chakradharpur, Tata and Kharagpur between Puri and Howrah having 11 Second Class Seating, Two AC Chair Car, Two Chair Car and Two Guard cum Second Class Seating Coaches.
? 02805 Puri Howrah Special from Puri will leave at 2200hrs (10.00p.m.) and will run via Jakhapura-Kendujhargarh-Dongoaposi-Kharagpur route. This train will provide stoppages at Sakhigopal, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jakhapura, Harichandanpur, Keonjhargarh, Dongoaposi, Tata and Kharagpur between Puri and Howrah having Two MEMU Motor Car and Six MEMU Coaches.
Member of Railway Board said the helpline number 139 is available in which senior rail officers are answering calls and are trying to connect with as many people as possible.
"The family members of the injured or deceased can call us and we will make sure that they are able to meet them. We will take care of their journey and other expenses," she said.
The railways also said that the 139 service will continue uninterrupted and will ensure prompt disbursal of ex-gratia announced by the rail minister -- Rs 10 lakh in case of death, Rs 2 lakh for grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries. (PTI)
The railways on Sunday said that even ticketless travellers on board the passenger trains involved in the Odisha accident will receive compensation. This is in line with a Supreme Court order, officials said.
"Irrespective of the passengers being ticketless (or not), they will receive compensation," railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said. (PTI)
Stating that Duronto Express trains introduced during her tenure as the railway minister were "pushed out of priority", Mamata Banerjee asked whether the Vande Bharat Express trains' engines were up to the mark.
Asserting that the BJP forced her to speak out despite this being a very sad situation, she said, "It was being stated by some sections that so many people died during my tenure and that of Nitish Kumar or Lalu Prasad Yadav." Banerjee said the new signal system and anti-collision device were introduced during her tenure as the railway minister.
"The name Vande Bharat is good, but you have seen what happened that day when a tree branch fell on it," she said, about a mishap the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat suffered on the second day after its inauguration. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday questioned the death figures given by the Ministry of Railways in the triple train crash in Odisha's Balasore, stating that 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing
"If from one state, 182 are missing and 61 are confirmed dead, then where would the figures stand?" she asked, addressing a press conference at the state secretariat, Nabanna. (PTI)
? “We have recommended a CBI probe into the triple train accident that claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening.
? The Centre along with the support of the state government are giving all support to the injured patients who are admitted to various hospitals in Balasore, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
? “Patients are being given all facilities in hospitals. There are teams of doctors who are taking care of patients round-the-clock,” Vaishnaw said. (PTI)
? More than 1,500 passengers including a large number of labourers are stranded at the Byappanahalli Railway Station due to the cancelled trains as a fallout of the train derailment in Odisha.
? With a big crisis unfolding at the Byappanahalli, the labour department and the Bengaluru civic agency on Sunday arranged food, water and mobile toilets for the passengers stuck at the railway station.
? On the directions of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the government departments joined hands to provide basic facilities including food and water to the stranded labourers and passengers whose trains to Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and other north-eastern states have been cancelled.
? Various social organisations too joined to serve the passengers stuck at the railway station. (PTI)
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday informed that the Railway Board has recommended that the Odisha train accident case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further inquiry.
After the train accident on Odisha's Balasore, West Bengal Mamata Banerjee asked (the Centre) 'whether the engines of Vande Bharat Express are fit for such trains after the Balasore rail accident.'
She also questioned death figures in the Balasore train crash, as she stated that 61 persons are reported dead, 182 are reported missing from Bengal only.
? Two days after one of India's worst train accidents at Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha's Balasore district, two railway tracks have been made fit to carry trains after bulldozers and cranes removed capsized coaches on the main trunk line connecting eastern and southern India.
? The government on Sunday said both the Up and Down railway tracks at Balasore accident site have been repaired.
? Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted that track linking Up-line has been restored and overhead electification work has also started.
? Officials said this implies that at least one set of railway tracks were now fit for trains, but more time will be required to fix all tracks, which include loop lines, at the Balasore accident site. (PTI)
According to the short brief on the accident issued by the Railways, “Up Train No. 12841…passing through Up Main Line…dashed with stationary Goods Train in Up Loop Line… The train was going at full speed across the station as it was not supposed to stop at the station…”
It is obvious from the brief that the Coromandel, instead of going past the goods train on the main line, entered the loop and smashed into the goods train from the rear. Pictures from the spot show the Coromandel’s locomotive perched atop the goods train. Avishek G Dastidar writes..
The Up Main Line (towards Chennai), the Down Main line (towards Howrah) at Bahanaga Bazar have now been repaired.
There is the Up Main Line (towards Chennai), the Down Main line (towards Howrah), and two loop lines on the two sides. The purpose of a loop is to park a train on the side so that the main line is left clear for a faster or more important train.
As the Coromandel approached, the loop line was occupied by a goods train going in the same (Up) direction. The Coromandel was supposed to go past it on the main line.
The Up Main Line (towards Chennai), the Down Main line (towards Howrah) at Bahanaga Bazar, the site of the train accident, have been now repaired, informed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday.
The NCP on Sunday sought to know why the measures suggested in the 2022 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report to prevent train disasters were not implemented by the Centre, and asked if this non-adherence was not enough for Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to resign in the wake of the Odisha train tragedy.
The party also alleged that as per the CAG report, train accidents were waiting to happen due to several shortcomings, but the railway ministry and the minister failed to take this warning seriously.
The NCP spokesperson asked if minister Vishnaw had read the CAG report. 'If he did, then why was it not taken seriously and why were the suggestions of the CAG not put into implementation immediately?" he sought to know. (PTI)
Odisha Police Sunday appealed to all sections to desist from circulating rumours giving a communal colour to Balasore’s triple train accident where at least 275 people have died and over 1,100 injured.
The Odisha police also warned that severe legal action will be initiated against those found trying to create communal disharmony by spreading any rumor. (Read More)
The Railway Board, while detailing the sequence of events leading to the train tragedy in Odisha’s Balasore district, said that the Coromandel Express was “not over-speeding” and received the green signal to enter a loop line on which a goods train was stationary.
Two key officials of the Railway Board — Principal Executive Director of Signalling Sandeep Mathur and Member of Operation and Business Development Jaya Varma Sinha — explained how the accident might have occurred while addressing the media on Sunday. (Click here to read more)
'A special train has started its journey from Bhadrak to Bhubaneswar carrying the distressed passengers of the Odisha train accident. The train is only for distressed passengers...From Bhubaneswar the passengers will have to change the train,' said Station Manager Subhash Chandra Sahu.
? Explaining how the two key components could be responsible for the accident, Mathur said that if the train has to move to a loop line the point machine has to be operated.
? "We have to see whether the track ahead is occupied or not. Signal is interlocked in such a manner that it will show if the line ahead is occupied or not. It will also be known whether point is taking the train straight or towards loop line.
? "When the point shows straight and the track ahead is not occupied then the signal is green and if the point is taking the train on loop and track is clear then signal is yellow and the route is shown of a different direction," he said.
? "It is called a fail safe system, so it means that even if it fails, all the signals will turn red and all train operations will stop. Now, as the minister said there was a problem with the signalling system. It could be a physical error, whereby someone has done some digging without seeing the cables," she said. (PTI)
? Two key officials of the Railway Board -- Principal Executive Director of Signalling Sandeep Mathur and Member of Operation and Business Development Jaya Varma Sinha -- explained how the accident might have occurred.
? Sinha said the direction, route and signal were set for the Coromandel Express. "Green signal means that in every way the driver knows that his path ahead is clear and he can go forward with his permitted maximum speed. The permitted speed at this section was 130 kmph and he was running his train at 128 kmph which we have confirmed from loco logs," she said.
? "In both the trains, there was no question of over-speeding. Preliminary finding has found that there is a signalling issue," Sinha said.
? "Only one train was involved in the accident, it was the Coromandel Express. The Coromandel Express crashed with the goods train and its coaches went on top of the goods train. It was an iron ore-laden train, a heavy train, therefore the entire impact of the collision was on the train," she said.
The railways on Sunday said the Coromandel Express was "not over-speeding" and received the green signal to enter a loop line on which a goods train was stationary, virtually clearing its driver of any role behind the accident that killed 288 people in Odisha's Balasore district. (PTI)
“On Feb 9, a senior Railway official wrote in a report that there is need to maintain the inter-locking system of signals but the government didn't take cognisance of the report,” claims Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil. (PTI)
"Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to pay ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakhs each to the kin of the deceased, Rs 5 lakhs each to those seriously injured and Rs 1 lakh each to those who sustained minor injuries, in addition to the financial help extended by the Centre," the chief minister's office declared.
? A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired apex court judge to probe the cause of the train accident in Odisha's Balasore district that has left 288 people dead.
? The plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari also sought directions to the Centre to immediately set up an expert commission headed by retired judge of the apex court and consisting of technical members to analyse and review the risk and safety parameters in the railway system and to suggest systematic safety modifications for strengthening Railway safety mechanism and submit its report to the court.
? The plea submitted that non-implementation of Kavach system at the earliest has resulted in a massive loss of life and damage of public property which imputes direct liability of gross negligence and breach of duty of care by respondent authorities.
? It also sought issuance of guidelines for the implementation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System Kavach in Indian Railways with immediate effect. (PTI)
A senior Bangladeshi diplomat, Sheikh Marefat Ali Islam, on Sunday visited Soro Hospital in Odisha's Balasore district to provide consular assistance to Bangladeshi passengers injured in the triple train crash.
Islam told PTI that few Bangladeshi passengers were recuperating in different hospitals in Odisha but there was no news of death of any citizen of that country in the crash.
“One Bangladeshi passenger admitted at a Bhadrak hospital was discharged after treatment. Another has been referred to SCB Medical College in Cuttack. On Saturday, I had visited a Balasore hospital,” he said.
“If there's any information on injured Bangladeshi patients, please dial our deputy high commission at Kolkata - 9038353533,” Marefat, second secretary in the Bangladesh deputy high commission which looks after eastern India, added. (PTI)
"Safety is the top priority for Railways. We are making sure that the evidence does not get tampered & that any witness does not get affected. The driver of the train who sustained serious injuries said that the train moved forward only after it received a 'Green' signal. Neither did he jump any signal nor the train was overspeeding," says Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board.
"With restoration work underway, at least two railway lines are expected to be operational by 8pm today at the site. We expect that trains will start running at a low speed. Inquiry is underway, we are investigating all angles. Prima facie it appears to be an issue of signalling, but we cannot authenticate anything as of now," said Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board.
"Our helpline number 139 is available. This is not a call centre number, our senior officers are answering the calls and we are trying to connect as many people as possible. The family members of the injured or deceased can call us and we will make sure that they are able to meet them. We will take care of their journey and other expenses," said Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Sunday said the root cause of the train accident that claimed 275 lives and the people responsible for it have been identified, and said the inquiry report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety would be known soon.
In an interview to state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan Sunday morning at the site of the accident incident, Vaishnaw said, “The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) was at the site yesterday… CRS has taken statements from all people, and has proceeded fast. The root cause has been identified – people who have done this work have also been identified. The CRS inquiry report – the reason why the accident happened will also be known early.” Read here
Of the 127 people hailing from Tamil Nadu who had reserved tickets in Coromandel Express, contact could not be established with eight people and the rest were safe, the state government said, news agency PTI reported. As per information received so far on the train accident, no person from Tamil Nadu was killed or injured warranting treatment.
Based on the information on passengers provided by the Southern Railway, a list of 127 TN people --who had furnished residential addresses in Tamil Nadu and those who had Tamil names-- was prepared. They had reserved tickets on the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express.
The Congress Sunday demanded the resignation of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the three-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, which claimed the lives of 275 and left over 1,000 injured, and said that his “PR gimmicks” overshadowed the “serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security” of the Indian Railways.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and spokesperson Pawan Kera alleged that the Odisha train accident was a “man-made devastation caused by “utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government”. Read more
After meeting the injured at the Soro Medical Hospital in Odisha, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "We met the injured and their family members at Soro Medical, and compensation is being given to them. Special trains are being run from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ranchi".
Did someone tamper with the signalling “logic” in the system that led to the point failure? This is the direction in which the probe has started looking after assessing all available data on the ground, sources related to the exercise told The Indian Express.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Sunday indicated human involvement in the one of the worst train accidents in history which claimed at least 288 lives since Friday. Must read now
Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Dharmendra Pradhan visited the injured at the District Head Quarter Hospital in Odisha.
In a tweet, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the down mail line in Odisha's Balasore has been restored.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged "little mismanagement" which it says led to the loss of several lives in the Odisha train accident. "A number of precious lives could have otherwise been saved," he said.
The Congress has hit out at the BJP-led government over the Odisha train accident, which has claimed the lives of 275 and injured over 1,000. In a press conference, senior leader Pawan Khera demanded the resignation of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the BJP-led Centre will take strict action against those responsible for the Odisha train accident, which has claimed the lives of 275 and left 1,000 injured.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told news agency ANI, "We met the patients and doctors at Soro Hospital. Special trains are being run from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Kolkata and other places so that patients can reach their homes, after their treatment".
The death toll in Friday's train accident in Odisha's Balasore district where two trains derailed, rose to 275, according to revised figures from the state government's office. So far, 88 bodies have been indentified and 187 are yet to be.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took a jibe at the BJP-led Centre over the railway tragedy in Odisha, and said one minister cannot deal with large ministries such as Railways as well as Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, as was being done by Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In a tweet, Sibal said, "Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for IT and Electronics, Minister for Railways. No Railway Budget. No Accountability. One minister cannot deal with such large ministries. Bullet Trains. Vande Bharat. Serve the extraordinary, let down the ordinary! Recipe for disaster!"
"Tragedies –Total derailments; 257(2017-18); 526 (2018-19) ; 399 (2019-20)...Reasons (CAG): 1)Maintenance of track (167); 2)Deviation of track parameters(149); 3)Bad driving(144). For the Rs.1 lakh cr. allocated 2017-22) for safety, Railways failed to deposit even Rs. 5000 cr each year!" he said.
After inspecting the restoration work at the accident site in Odisha's Balasore, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "The number of people admitted to various hospitals is reducing. Railways has made all arrangements for them to return home".
Over 1,000 workers and railway officials worked on a war footing through Saturday night with heavy machinery, including seven pocketing machines, a 140-tonne railway crane, and four road cranes, for the restoration of train services as relief and rescue operations ended at the site of the horrific train accident near Balasore in Odisha.
As many as 288 bodies have been found and over 1,100 people have been rescued after the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Express, and a goods train collided near the Bahanaga Bazar station around 7 pm Friday—in the worst train tragedy in the country in two decades. Sujit Bisoyi reports
As the restoration work at the railway accident site at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore is underway, here is a list of trains cancelled and diverted.
Cancelled trains
? 18046 Hyderabad-Shalimar Express.
? 12838 Puri-Howrah Express.
? 20832 Sambalpur-Shalimar Express.
Trains rescheduled
? 22305 Bengaluru-Jasidih Express rescheduled to leave from originating station at 1230 hrs instead of its scheduled departure at 1000 hrs.
? 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Express rescheduled to leave from originating station at 1300 hrs instead of its scheduled departure at 1035 hrs.
? 12246 Bengaluru-Howrah Express rescheduled to leave from originating station at 1330 hrs instead of its scheduled departure at 1120 hrs.
Restoration of trains
? Services of 12876 Anand Vihar Terminal – Puri Neelachal Express which was cancelled earlier (vide Bulletin No. 9 of 03.06.2023) have now been restored. This train will run through its normal path.