New Delhi:

The Bengal train accident that took place this morning, heralded the return of a wrathful Opposition, fresh from its massively improved performance in the recently concluded general election. From former railway ministers Lalu Yadav and Mamata Banerjee to various leaders in the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, social media platforms have been full of angry accusations, demanding that the government take responsibility for the deaths of nine people and injuries to 50 others. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tried to stem the tide, saying this is “not the time for politics”.

Three coaches of Kolkata-bound Kanchanjunga Express derailed early this morning when a goods train slammed it from behind near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri. The casualties would have been higher had the parcel coach and the guard’s coach not been at the rear.

In the afternoon, Mr Vaishnaw reached the spot. “Rescue operation is over, our focus in now on restoration. This is not the time for politics,” he said, responding to questions on Opposition criticism.  

“This government is only interested in elections.. How to go for hacking… how to go for manipulation… They do not take care of amenities… bathrooms are dirty and there are dirty things in bedding… They do not take care of the railway staff,” said Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shortly after.

Ms Banerjee handled the railway portfolio from 2009 to 2011 during the second term of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. She had also held the ministry for less than two years in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The first off the block, though, was Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Yadav, who handled the railway portfolio during the first term of the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. “Who is responsible for the continuous railway accidents in the country?”  read his post on X, formerly Twitter.

The Congress attack was spearheaded by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who accused the BJP-led government of indulging in “utter mismanagement of the Railway Ministry”.

“As a responsible Opposition, it is our bounden duty to underline how the Modi Govt has systematically converted the Rail Ministry into a platform of ‘Camera-driven’ self-promotion! Today’s tragedy is yet another reminder of this stark reality,” he said.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi underscored the point, saying, “As a responsible Opposition, we will keep raising questions on this scary negligence and make the government accountable.”

“The safety and travel of passengers in Indian Railways is now becoming a matter of concern,” read a rough translation of a Hindi post from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“The railway accidents that have happened in the last 10 years are the result of the central government’s negligence and mismanagement. We will continue to raise our voice against this,” senior Congress leader Deepender Hooda told reporters.

The official handle of the Congress responded with a list of the major train accidents over the last decade, with a break-up of the number of people killed and injured in each.

मोदी सरकार में हुए बड़े रेल हादसे

26 मई, 2014
गोरखधाम एक्सप्रेस
25 लोगों की मौत
50 से ज्यादा घायल

20 नवंबर, 2016
इंदौर-पटना एक्सप्रेस
150 लोगों की मौत
150 से ज्यादा लोग घायल

23 अगस्त, 2017
कैफियत एक्सप्रेस
70 लोग घायल

18 अगस्त, 2017
पुरी-हरिद्वार उत्कल एक्सप्रेस
23 लोगों…

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 17, 2024

Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party pointed out that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, then Union railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had resigned taking responsibility for the Gasal train accident in 1999.

“But Ashwini Vaishnav in the Modi government, who had two major train accidents during his tenure, never once accepted the responsibility for the train accident… Railway account is only to promote Modi government by setting up selfie booth, not for safety of railway passengers,” the party posted on X.

Kavach, the made-in-India system to help prevent accidents if two trains are travelling on the same line, was not available on the tracks in Darjeeling where the two trains collided today. At least eight passengers have died and over 50 others were injured after a goods train rammed the Kolkata-bound Kanchanjunga Express from behind.

As an old video of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explaining the Kavach system went viral following today’s crash, officials said the system is yet to be installed in much of the rail network.

” The Railways plans to deploy the safety system on the Delhi-Guwahati route under its goal to cover over 6,000 km of tracks by next year. Bengal falls within the 3,000 km of tracks set to be protected by Kavach this year. The system will be applied to the Delhi-Howrah route,” Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman of Railway Board told NDTV.

Currently, Kavach is in place on over 1,500 km of tracks. The Centre had planned to bring 2,000 km of rail network under Kavach during 2022-23 and aims to cover around 34,000 km of rail network. The Indian Railway system is over 1 lakh kilometres long.

“If Kavach was deployed, something like this accident could likely be avoided. However, it’s a costly system to operate,” former Executive Director of Railway Board Prempal Sharma told NDTV.
 

What Is Kavach?

Kavach is an automatic train protection (ATP) system, indigenously-developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RSCO) with three Indian firms.

The security system controls the speeding of trains but also helps locomotive drivers to avoid missing danger signals and ensure that trains run safely especially in low-visibility conditions.

How does it work?

Kavach controls train speed by automatically braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes on time.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are placed on tracks and at station yard and signals for identifying the tracks and locating the train and its direction. When the system is activated, all trains within 5 km will stop to let the train on an adjacent track to pass safely.

On Board Display of Signal Aspect (OBDSA) helps the loco pilots view the signals even when the visibility is low due to bad weather. Usually, loco pilots have to look out of the window to spot the signals.

The safety system sends a signal to a loco pilot when approaching a ‘red signal’ and applies automatic brakes if necessary to prevent overshooting the signal.

In 2022, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he had personally tested the safety system.

“Rear-end collision testing is successful. Kavach automatically stopped the locomotive before 380 m of other locomotive at the front,” he said in a post on X.

Here is a video of the Railways Minister explaining how the system works: 

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw @AshwiniVaishnaw
Hon’ble Railway Minister briefs during live testing of #kavach automatic train protection technology in Lingampalli – Vikarabad section, South Central Railway #NationalSafetyDay@RailMinIndia@drmsecunderabadpic.twitter.com/jtW5EXECm3

— South Central Railway (@SCRailwayIndia) March 4, 2022

The system also relays SoS messages during emergency situations.

Kolkata:

Kanchanjunga Express accident: The good train that hit a Kolkata-bound express train this morning in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district had overshot the signal, officials said. At least eight died and two dozen passengers suffered injuries after the express train traveling from Silchar, Assam to Sealdah, Kolkata was rammed by the goods train near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri. The last three coaches of the express train were derailed and many more were affected, it is learnt.

Kanchanjunga Express is frequently used by tourists to travel to the popular hill station of Darjeeling. The route crosses the narrow strip of land called Chicken’s Corridor, which links the Northeast with the rest of the country.

The route is an automatic signal section and remains extremely busy with parallel lines, which means there are higher chances of other trains being around.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the injured were being shifted to a hospital.

“Unfortunate accident in NFR zone. Rescue operations going on at war footing. Railways, NDRF and SDRF are working in close coordination. Injured are being shifted to the hospital. Senior officials have reached site,” he posted.

A war room has been set up in Delhi to coordinate rescue measures.

Disaster response teams and medical staff have been rushed to the site, said an online post by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“Shocked to learn, just now, about a tragic train accident, in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district. While details are awaited, Kanchenjunga Express has reportedly been hit by a goods train. DM, SP, doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue, recovery, medical assistance. Action on war-footing initiated,” she posted on X.

The passenger train had two parcel vans and a guard coach in the rear, which is believed to have significantly reduced the impact of collision.

The Railways has been upgrading all trains with the new LHB coaches, but the Kanchanjunga Express has been running with old coaches made by Integral Coach Factory.

Helpline numbers released by the Railways: 033-23508794 and 033-23833326 (Sealdah) and 03612731621, 03612731622 and 03612731623 at Guwahati.

Raipur:

Two passengers and a sanitation staffer were injured after the head of a big drilling machine crashed into a moving train on the outskirts of Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur on Sunday, officials said.

The incident took place around 10 am when the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Mumbai)-bound Shalimar-LTT Express was passing through Urkura railway station ahead of the Raipur station, a railway public relations official (PRO) here said.

The railway has ordered a senior administrative grade (SAG) level inquiry into the incident.

Earlier, officials had said that a pole located near the tracks fell on the train. The piece of metal was later found to be a “drill machine reamer” which looks like a pole, the official said.

As the train reached Raipur station, rail personnel, including doctors rushed to the affected coach and administered first aid to the injured passengers, the official said.

Injured passenger Devari Dhivar (30) and sanitation staffer (from on-board housekeeping service) Narayan Chandra Bag (30) were then admitted to a private hospital here. The second injured passenger, Somil Mandal (12), was administered first-aid at the station, he said.

Mandal, who was travelling from Kharagpur to Mumbai, was later sent to his destination along with his family on another train, he said.

After learning about the incident, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Raipur division Sanjeev Kumar and other senior officials reached Raipur station to assess the incident, he said.

The DRM also visited the hospital, spoke to the family of the injured and instructed railway personnel to ensure the best possible medical assistance to the victims.

Assistant Commercial Manager Avinash Kumar Anand handed over a cheque of Rs 50,000 as ex gratia to Dhivar, he said.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has registered a case in connection with the incident, he said.

As initially thought, the metal was not a pole, the PRO said, citing the investigation.

“Rather, it was a reamer of a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine engaged in drilling work by the state-run Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL),” he said.

The electricity company’s contractor was conducting drilling operations beneath the tracks without informing the railways. The machine’s reamer was being pulled out when the train was passing through Urkura. But it unexpectedly came out of the ground and hit the train, he said.

The reamer scraped three AC coaches (B4, B5 and B6) damaging window pans, and injuring three persons besides causing scratches on the bogies.

CSPDCL officials were called to the accident site where they admitted that the contractor had ignored safety standards while doing the work, the PRO said.

The railways has ordered a senior administrative grade level probe into the incident and action will be taken against those found guilty, he said, adding that the train left for its destination around noon

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thrissur:

In a shocking incident, a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) met with a tragic fate after allegedly being pushed by a passenger, who was travelling without a ticket, from a moving train in this central Kerala district on Tuesday.

Police said the incident occurred on Tuesday evening in the Velappaya area under the Thrissur Medical College police station limits.

The victim has been identified as K Vinod, a resident of Ernakulam.

According to police, K Vinod, while performing his duties, fell from the moving train after being allegedly pushed by the passenger in question.

The incident occurred aboard the Patna-bound train that originated from Ernakulam.

The police swiftly responded to the incident, and the accused passenger was apprehended in Palakkad.

Railway officials said that the passenger, allegedly a migrant worker, pushed Vinod from the moving train after being questioned regarding his lack of a ticket.

It is also suspected that another train, traveling in the opposite direction, ran over his body.

The incident happened after the departure of the Ernakulam-Patna Express from Thrissur station.

His colleagues remembered K Vinod, who is in his mid-40s, as a sincere officer who has also taken on small roles in some movies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)