The head-on collision of a Delhi-Rohtak passenger train with a stationary engine, in the heart of the Capital, has exposed glaring loopholes in the Railways’ safety measures. Sources said though the cause would be known only after the inquiry, it appeared to be a human error since the train was received on an occupied track.A shocking fact that has come to light is that the Railways had still not completed track circuiting at the Shakur Basti station where the accident took place. Track circuiting could have prevented the train from coming on the same line as the engine. In case of track circuitng, an oncoming train will not get the signal to go ahead if the track is occupied.Sources disclosed that several stations in the Delhi division, including Sarai Rohilla, Delhi Cantt and Shakur Basti, did not have track circuitng. Moreover, this station like several others in the country, still remained ‘Cabin operated’, that is all functions were done manually, and points of the track were set using a lever. This left it susceptible to human error.Track circuiting was one of the main recommendations of several safety committees including the one headed by Justice H.R. Khanna. This was also one of the ‘‘priority recommendations’’ of the inquiry committee that probed the Khanna accident. ‘‘On the grounds of being such a busy division, track circuiting should have been completed on a priority in the Delhi area,’’ said the official.
