Odisha train crash: Railway board says Coromandel driver was conscious after crash

A railway board official said on Sunday (June 4) that there was an issue with signalling and only the Coromandel Express met with an accident in Balasore district ofIndia's Odisha state last Friday (June 2) that killed 275 people. Addressing a press conference, Jaya Varma Sinha, a Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, recalled her interactions with the staff of the Coromandel and Yeshwanthpur Express trains.

“I had a conversation with the locomotive driver of Coromandel Express. He was conscious at that time. He said that he received a green signal. After that conversation, his condition is critical. The guard of the goods train was out of the train and was checking it. At that particular time frame, the accident happened. Had he been there in the goods train, there was no chance of him being alive,” Varma said during a press conference on Sunday, the news agency ANI reported.

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Varma said that she received information just 15 minutes after the accident took place. "I also talked to the TT of Coach AI of the other train Howrah Yesvantpur Express. He told me that he heard a loud abnormal voice from the back. He felt there was some kind of obstruction. Behind the A1 coach, there were two general coaches and the guard's cabin. The two coaches behind A1 detached completely and were thrown off the tracks, while the A1 coach was safe and moved forward," the official also said on Sunday.

Trains cross disaster site as services resume

On Sunday, passenger trains crossed in Balasore just days after India's deadliest train crash killed at least 275 people and injured 1,200 others. A preliminary probe indicated the Coromandel Express, heading to Chennai from Kolkata, moved out of the main track and entered a loop track – a side track used to park trains - crashing into the freight train parked on the loop track.

That crash caused the engine and the first few coaches of the Coromandel Express to jump the tracks, topple and hit the last two coaches of the Yeshwantpur-Howrah train heading in the opposite direction on the second main track.

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After the completion of two days of rescue and repair work, the railway ministry said on Twitter that trains had begun operating on the same route by Sunday evening.

Speaking to the news agency Reuters, a railways officer said that trains are required to control their speed and proceed slowly for a certain distance. Earlier, the railways had said that the failure of the track management system was the main focus of the investigation.

Railways seek CBI probe

The railways on Sunday sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Balasore train crash with officials indicating that possible "sabotage" and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the accident.

"We have recommended a CBI probe into the triple train accident," Railways Minister Ashwini Yadav said, adding the "root cause" of the accident and the people behind the "criminal" act were identified.

(With inputs from agencies)

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