Odisha train accident: PIL in SC seeking probe by expert panel

The PIL has sought guidelines and directions for the implementation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system called KAVACH Protection System in Indian Railways.

‘Kavach’ controls the speed of the train by automatic application of breaks in case the loco pilot fails to do so.

On Sunday, Indian Railways said the fatal train derailment in Odisha was caused due to an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said, “Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation”.

According to the preliminary probe into the matter, the signal was given to the high-speed Coromandel Express to enter the main track line, but the signal was later taken off, and the train instead entered an adjacent loop line where it rammed into a goods train. The collision flipped Coromandel Express’s coaches onto another track, causing the incoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the opposite side to derail, triggering a three-train collision.

Congress has demanded the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw alleging that his “PR gimmicks” overshadowed the “serious deficiencies and complete disregard for safety and security” of India Railways.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil and AICC’s publicity and media department head Pawan Khera alleged that the Odisha rail tragedy was a “man-made devastation caused by “utter negligence, serious lapses in the system, incompetence, and a narcissistic sense of know-it-all attitude of the Modi government”.

The party alleged that Vaishnaw’s “over the top publicity, theatrics and PR gimmicks overshadowed the serious deficiencies, criminal negligence and complete disregard for safety and security of Indian Railways”.

The Congress leaders also asked when will the Modi government implement the much-hyped KAVACH Anti-Collision system nationwide, after testing.

Updated: 04 Jun 2023, 02:52 PM IST