Bogeys on the track

The Balasore malfunctions train tragedy exposes recurrent in the railway signalling system

- SANJIB KR BARUAH

It was quite dark at 6:55pm on Friday, June 2. The 12841 Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai hurtled down the track at 129kmph. It was nearing the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district.

Loco pilots Gunanidhi Mohanty and Hazari Behera had seen the green signal ahead. It meant all was okay; there was no stop at Bahanaga Bazar, so they could race ahead.

But in a split second, the train slid on to a loop line, where the mandated speed limit is 15kmph.

On the loop line was a stationary goods train laden with iron ore. The Coromandel crashed into the goods train and, worse, its careening bogies hit the rear bogies of a train that was going in the opposite direction-the 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express.

Hundreds of passengers died in seconds. The final toll: At least 288 dead and around 1,000 injured.

The horrifying train tragedy was the worst in two decades. It put under the scanner one of the railway's best kept secrets-a faulty signalling system. Official opinions in news reports, though, alluded to a 'human hand' in the accident, adding a new dimension to an already complex issue. "We have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it," said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. "It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking." The minister, of course, did not name the people identified.

Two 'parallel' probes are under circle), way. One by the commissioner of railway safety (southeastern who began an investigation on June 5. The other one by the CBI, which will decide on criminality, as it is the agency's standard mandate.