BY MOHAMMAD NUMAAN
Nearly 294 people were killed and over 1000 have been injured in a horrific train derailment that occurred on Friday evening in Odisha’s Balasore. ( Figures at the time of writing this column).
The derailment of 10 to 12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express caused them to fall onto the opposite track. Subsequently, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express collided with the derailed coaches, leading to the derailment of three to four of its own coaches. Adding to the tragedy, a goods train was also involved in the crash.
The accident saw one train ram so hard into another that carriages were lifted high into the air, twisting and then smashing off the tracks. Another carriage had been tossed entirely onto its roof, crushing the passenger sections.
The train accident in Odisha’s Balasore occurred on Friday ranks as India’s third worst, and the deadliest accident since 1995, when two express trains collided in Firozabad, near Agra, killing more than 300 people.
Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday that the “root cause” of the triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore has been identified, but did not disclose what it was as at present restoration work is ongoing and all bodies have been recovered from the accident spot, added Vaishnaw.
According to media reports, preliminary investigations have revealed that a signal was given to Coromandel Express to enter the main line but it was taken off and the train entered the loop line and crashed into a goods train parked there.
As per the Railway Ministry statement, over 1,000 people are engaged in removing mangled coaches from the track and searching for dead bodies. More than seven poclain machines, two accident relief trains, and three to four Railway and Road Cranes are deployed to carry out the restoration work at the accident site.
Large cranes are also deployed to move the wreckage and gas cutters were used to extricate the bodies from the mangled, toppled coaches. The rescue operation was wrapped up Saturday afternoon and restoration work started. With traffic on the route disrupted, over 150 trains were cancelled, diverted or short-terminated.
World leaders continued to express condolences over the deadly train crash that occurred in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday. US President Joe Biden on Saturday said he was left ‘heartbroken’ after hearing the ‘tragic’ news of the three-way collision that claimed at least 288 lives and injured nearly 1,000. The statement also invoked the deep connections shared by the US and India based on family and culture that tie the two countries together.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Odisha on Saturday and reviewed the rescue and relief efforts underway after the tragic train accident in Balasore. He also visited the railway accident site and the hospital where the injured are undertaking treatment.
Narendra Modi has said that people from various states who were travelling in the trains have been impacted by this monumental tragedy. While talking about the tragic loss of lives, Prime Minister has said that no stone will be left unturned to provide all possible medical help to those injured. He said that the government stands with the bereaved family members who have lost their loved ones.
Counting the horrific Odisha train accident on Friday night, the Coromandel Express has derailed three times so far – 2002, 2009 and 2023. But no lessons seemed to have been learnt by the Indian Railways from the first two mishaps, making the latest accident the deadliest so far. All three accidents took place on a Friday, all three trains were bound for Chennai and two of these occurred in Odisha.
In 2002, the train operating between West Bengal and Tamil Nadu derailed on March 15 near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. At least eight coaches of the Chennai-bound train were damaged. However, no deaths were reported, but around 100 people were injured. At the time, the poor condition of the main rail track in Nellore was blamed for the accident.
In 2009, at least 16 passengers were killed and around 200 were injured in the mishap that took place on the evening of February 13. A total of 13 bogies derailed while changing tracks in Odisha’s Jajpur district. The train was running at a high speed and the engine turned turtle soon after it passed through the Jajpur Road railway station.
In the latest Odisha accident, the train derailed around 100km from the 2009 mishap site, this time involving two more trains and killing more than 260 people. The accident took place near Bahanaga Bazar railway station when around 11 coaches and the engine of the Coromandel Express derailed. According to the latest railway bulletin, issued around 1pm on Saturday, at least 261 deaths have been reported.
A government railway safety report for 2019-20 found derailments were responsible for 70% of the railway accidents, up from 68% the previous year. (Train fires and collisions came next, responsible for 14% and 8% of the total accidents respectively).
The report counted 40 derailments involving 33 passenger trains and seven freight trains during the year under review. Of these 17 derailments were caused by track “defects” – this could include fractures and subsidence of tracks. Only nine incidents of derailments were caused because of defects in trains – engines, coaches, wagons – according to the report.
Railway tracks, composed of metal, undergo expansion during the summer months and contraction in winter due to the fluctuations in temperature. They require regular maintenance – tightening loose track components, changing sleepers and lubricating and adjusting switches, among other things. Such track inspection is done by foot, trolleys, locomotives and rear vehicles.
India’s railways recommend that track recording cars meticulously evaluate the structural and geometrical integrity of tracks designed to sustain speeds ranging from 110kmph to 130kmph at least once every three months and as per the media reports, there were 34 “consequential rail accidents” – collisions, derailments, fire or explosion in trains, road vehicles colliding with trains at level crossings – during 2021-22, up from 27 such accidents during the previous year.
The Railways announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for those grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who got minor injuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, expressed his distress over the accident, and announced an additional ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
India’s expansive railway system – one of the world’s largest – carries some 25 million passengers every day across a countrywide network of tracks spanning more than 100,000km (62,000 miles). Some 5,200km of new tracks were laid last year, according to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Also 8,000km of tracks were also being upgraded every year, the minister said.
The Indian Railways runs the fourth largest train network in the world. It transports 13 million people every day and moved nearly 1.5 billion tonnes of freight in 2022. This year, the government made a record ₹ 2.4-trillion-rupee capital outlay for the railways, a 50% increase over the previous fiscal year, to upgrade tracks, ease congestion and add new trains.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.