Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Tuesday, in a virtual safety conference, directed officials to chalk out a plan to make the railway network completely tamper-proof from outside elements by ensuring that the protocols around the signaling system are tamper-proof. He also directed to run an intensive campaign for this.
Vaishnav also said that the officers should ensure this by running a special campaign so that the safe operation of trains is possible and any other accident can be avoided. Instructions should also be issued to railway police and linemen to be alert for track inspection. Meanwhile, Railway Board Chairman and CEO Anil Kumar Lahoti also shared the detailed report related to the accident with the Prime Minister’s Office.
The question raised after the accident
The Balasore train accident has raised a big question about the safe operation of trains. Especially with electronic equipment. At first glance, the reason for the accident is believed to be a problem in the railway signaling system, but the railway officials were calling it tamper-proof. To eliminate train accidents due to human error, till last year 6,261 stations were provided with electronic interlocking systems with centralized operation of points and signals and 10,869 level crossing gates were provided with interlocking. Despite this, this train accident has become a cause of concern.
Smoke rises from the AC coach of Secunderabad-Agartala Express, stopped in Odisha
The Secunderabad-Agartala Express was stopped at Berhampur railway station in Odisha on Tuesday afternoon after smoke billowed from the AC coach. Though the smoke was brought under control immediately, the passengers refused to travel in the coach fearing further damage.
No increase in cancellation of tickets due to accident: IRCTC
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has rejected the claims of the Congress party regarding the cancellation of train tickets of a large number of passengers after the Odisha accident. IRCTC said the claim of ticket cancellation is factually incorrect. The truth is that the number of people canceling booked tickets has decreased. A Congress leader had alleged that after the Odisha train accident, thousands of people canceled their tickets as they feel that train travel is not safe.
Down Coromandel Express passed through an accident site after four days
Four days after the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express triple train derailment, a Chennai down train at a speed of 30 kmph passed the accident site near Bahanaga Bazar station on Tuesday. As soon as the train passed, a large number of people came to see the train. More than 70 trains, including the Vande Bharat Express, have passed through Bahanaga Bazar station since both the up and down tracks were restored on Sunday night.