Preliminary investigations in the train crash in Odisha's Balasore district 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 reported by the news agency PTI.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the root cause of the accident has been identified and all the bodies have been removed. He also said that the target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track.
"The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track," Ashwini Vaishnaw said, as quoted by ANI.
Ashwini Vaishnaw while speaking to ANI said that the commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it. "The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking," Vaishnaw told ANI.
The Railway Minister further added the focus right now is on the restoration and the target is to finish the work by Wednesday morning.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track," Vaishnaw added.
Earlier on Saturday, Investigators were looking into any human error, signal failure and other possible causes behind the three-train crash as officials submitted a preliminary inquiry report into the worst rail accident in India in nearly three decades that left at least 275 people dead and over 1,100 injured.
The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express which was coming at high speed rammed into the coaches of Coromandel Express that had scattered on the adjacent track.
Twenty-one coaches were derailed and severely damaged in the accident, trapping hundreds of passengers. Both passenger trains were at a high speed and it has been cited by experts as one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties, as reported by PTI. Large cranes were 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site and was briefed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as well as officers of the disaster management teams. He also met some of the injured in the hospital.
"I do not have words to express my pain... No one would be spared and strong action would be taken against those found guilty. Instructions have been given to ensure proper and speedy investigation into the tragedy," Modi said, adding that more focus will be given to the security of rail passengers. Citing reports till Saturday evening, officials said 275 people were killed in the accident.
As many as 1,175 people were admitted at various hospitals, including private ones, out of which 793 have been released and 382 were undergoing treatment, Odisha government officials said at around 8 PM Saturday, as reported by PTI. All except two patients are stable, they said.
As the nation mourned the massive tragedy, several states and parties cancelled their programmes and condolences poured in from across the world. Expressing shock and grief at the tragic train accident, opposition leaders stressed the importance of prioritising the safety of passengers by railways, while there were also demands to fix accountability and for the resignation of Railway Minister Vaishnaw.
While questions were raised on why the anti-train collision system "Kavach" did not work, the railways said it was not available on the route. On June 6, 1981, India recorded its worst train accident in Bihar when a train fell into the river Bagmati while crossing a bridge, killing more than 750 people. In August 1995, around 350 people were killed when two passenger trains collided in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Initial findings suggested that a signalling failure could be the reason behind the crash, railway officials said it is not yet clear if Coromandel Express entered the loop line and hit the stationary goods train or it first derailed and then hit the parked train after entering the loop line, PTI reported citing sources.
The preliminary inquiry report, a copy of which is with PTI, said the signal "was given and taken off for the up main line for train number 12841 (Coromandel) but the train entered the up loop line and dashed with the goods train which was on the loopline and derailed".
"In the meantime, (train number) 12864 (Howrah Superfast) passed through the down main line and two coaches of it derailed and capsized." The loop lines of the Indian Railways are constructed in a station area -- in this case, the Bahanagar Bazar station -- to accommodate more trains to ease out the operations.