New Delhi: Authorities on Sunday said that the Coromandel Express and the other passenger train Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express involved in the accident in Odisha were not overspeeding.
However, the accident involving three trains killed at least 288 people injuring several hundred passengers in Balasore, which the railways minister Ahswini Vaishnaw linked to an issue with the ‘electronic interlocking system’.
The accident took place at Bahanaga Bazar station, which is a four-line station with two main lines in the middle and two loop lines on either side, according to railways.
The signal was green on both the main lines when the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express was coming from Chennai speeding at 128 kmph to Howrah as the other passenger train was speeding at 126, with both within the speed limit of 130 kmph.
Jaya Verma Sinha, Member, Operations & BD, Railway Board, further said that a signaling problem was detected, adding that more details of probe will emerge.
Sinha explained that Coromandel Express for some reason met with the accident, crashing into the goods train, stationed on the loop lines, carrying iron ore.
She explained that as it was heavy, the train absorbed the shock however the coaches of Coromandel Express was thrown off into third track ramming into a couple of coaches of the speeding third train.
The railways also said there was no indigenously developed automatic train protection system ‘ Kavach’ on the route where the accident took place.
Sinha said that the train protection system would not have averted such an accident, dismissing West Bengal chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s questioning the absence of Kavach.