It’s sabotage, says Railways and lets itself off the hook

But Chand, without going into any detail, has cited ‘‘sabotage’’ as the reason for the derailment of 12 coaches of the Rajdhani Express. His two-para official release shed neither any light on how he had come to the conclusion or who the suspected saboteurs could have been.

The CRS findings support the theory floated immediately after the mishap by Nitish Kumar who had to be reined in by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and told not to air his views till completion of the probe. Kumar today declined to comment on the CRS report. He said he had not even seen the report and was told an official release was being put out on the findings.

‘‘I have been saying from the very beginning that we will go by the findings of the commissioner, railway safety,’’ Kumar said. From the time he visited the mishap site, he has insisted it was a case of suspected sabotage. He had pointed to fishplates which were reportedly found removed from the tracks.

But few bought his ‘‘sabotage’’ theory. Because three trains crossed the bridge in less than an hour before the accident.

Railway logs, accessed by The Indian Express a day later, and interviews with present and former officials associated with the Rajdhani Express had revealed a slightly different story — of possible neglect and compromise.

Among those who had debunked the ‘‘sabotage’’ theory was Himanshu Sekhar Sinha, a former additional chief engineer involved with the Rajdhani’s maiden run and who retired as General Manager, Metro Rail.

According to Sinha, the possibility of removing fishplates is remote on the high-density Grand Chord sector where one train passes almost every 30 minutes. Moreover, intensive track safety patrolling with gangmen required to regularly submit inspection reports makes the system foolproof.

Sinha and other experts had identified possible reasons: Track subsidence which occurs during monsoon and can damage track geometry. The ‘‘longitudinal level’’ and ‘‘cross level’’ of the track are vital for super-fast trains like the Rajdhani.

Given that the maximum variation permissible is barely 2 to 3 mm, track maintenance is very crucial. Usually, it should involve constant monitoring with ultrasonic flaw detectors.

For trains running at a speed of 130 kmph, the coach ‘‘tolerance level’’ is also key. For example, regular coach oscillation tests are required to ensure that rakes do not swing beyond permissible levels.

The CRS also stipulates a mandatory six hours for checking of Rajdhani coaches after each train arrives at a terminal point. There are security specifications for each undergear equipment starting from linkages to brakes, from cushions to couplings and from air conditioning to the weight of the coach.

‘‘But these norms are there in rulebooks, how far these are maintained is anybody’s guess,’’ a senior railway official had told The Indian Express.