‘Poor upkeep could be real reason’

There were other factors that could have contributed to the accident. The girder bridge was built in 1916 and required maintenance. The bridge was badly damaged as its pier broke due to the impact.

The fish-plates — removal of which is being claimed to be the cause of the accident — were to be physically opened every three months to ensure they had not been sheared due to heavy traffic.

Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors cannot be used on fish-plates installed at the approach of the bridge. The track, itself, undergoes wear and tear due to traffic and needs monitoring. Being the division carrying maximum amount of traffic, Mughalsarai required higher level of maintenance.

It, incidentally, is also the division which became the bone of contention in the Eastern Railway bifurcation tussle when it went to the newly-created East Central zone, headquartered at Hajipur.

Sources said derailment of the Rajdhani Express pointed to callousness and lack of maintenance of both, the train and infrastructure, including bridge and tracks.

Rajdhani coaches are supposed to be anti-telescopic, that is they are not supposed to climb on to the each other due to impact of an accident. Neither are they supposed to tear away like the way they did as the train derailed.

‘‘Both, coaches and engine of the Rajdhani are designed for long distance high-speed running. The engine is capable of running at 160 kmph. The coaches of this particular Rajdhani were old and should not have been running,’’ disclosed a senior Railway Ministry official.

The train is only handed to the best drivers of the railways. ‘‘They are in the category of A-Special. Seniormost, most experienced and the best. Their training is refreshed periodically, and they take home as much as secretary to government of India — Rs 25,000-30,000 including their running allowances etc,’’ he said.