Coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed at the accident site near Bahanaga railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district. , Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Raut
Did the repair of boom barrier at a level crossing near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore, Odisha, cause the superfast Coromandel Express, which was traveling from Howrah to Chennai, to collide with a goods train parked on the loop line?
Level crossing gates and barriers are all linked by electronic interconnected signaling systems that automatically control the speed of trains to allow faster trains to move through main lines at minor stations. Senior railway officials, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that the repair of the boom barrier could have caused a break in the circuit connecting the relay and the network, which could have caused the signal to turn ‘green’. Let the Coromandel Express proceed even though the unit had shifted the train to the adjacent loop line where the freight train was standing.
“There are many levels of checks and re-checks, but somehow it had escaped everyone’s notice due to work pressure and there was no alert. The poor loco pilot has no means to control the train in the loop line as the signaling system will shift the train line and will be horrified to see the goods train in front,” he said.
Usually, when a train is taken from the main line to the loop line, the loco pilot reduces the speed to about 15 kmph, but here he was under the impression that he would give a ‘green’ signal on the main line. By then at the last moment being pushed to the nearest line, senior officers speculated.
Even if the two express trains were fitted with ‘Kavach’ (indigenously developed automatic train protection system and anti-collision device), the accident could not have been prevented, as the train was automatically stopped when the loco pilot jumped red. The system is built on stopping from form. ‘signal or when the train is on the same track whether in the opposite direction or a short distance in the same direction.
“In this case, the Coromandel Express had a clear ‘green’ signal and the loco pilot could not apply the brakes in such a short time and distance. The loco pilot and his assistant look for the signal every 1.5 km and give each other a complete signal. In addition, they look for a clear track unobstructed. They will not be aware of changes in points/crossings near stations, which will be supervised by the Telecom-Signal Engineering staff and the station concerned. Master does.
Similarly, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express could not avoid hitting the overturned coaches of the Coromandel Express as it was running at the prescribed high speed in the other direction almost at the same time, whether equipped with ‘armour’ or not.
The latest tragedy should now force the railways to focus on a fail-safe mechanism where trains automatically stop or reduce speed if any glitch is detected. “The failure of the system is clear and accountability must be fixed to prevent any precious human life from being lost,” he added.