Editor's Pick: Balasore train tragedy | Death toll rises, government indentifies “root cause”

On Saturday, the death toll in the Friday evening train accident at Bahanaga Bazaar railway station of Odisha’s Balasore district rose sharply to 288, while 1,091 injured persons were being provided medical assistance. Fifty-six of those in hospital had been grievously injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the site, said that “all types of investigations”. Had been ordered into the incident and the guilty would “not be spared”. Seven units of the National Disaster Response Force, five units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 24 fire services units were immediately pressed into service. However, the magnitude of the accident was so high that disaster response personnel aided by local people took the whole of Friday night and Saturday morning to pull out the bodies from the wreckage. While final results of probes are not out yet, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who reviewed the restoration work at the Balasore triple train collision site on June 4, said the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. Meanwhile, a preliminary investigation by a multi-disciplinary team of railway officials has indicated that a signalling failure may have been a cause of Friday’s railway accident involving three trains in Odisha. Besides, as per officials, none of the trains in the crash was equipped with anti-collision equipment; nor was the section covered by the National Automatic Train Protection System or Kavach. An investigation is being held into whether the Coromandel Express switched routes, or whether it went on the route of the freight train after the derailment. Because this will determine whether an anti-collision system could have even been of help. Notably, the country’s expansive railway system was built in the 19th century colonial times. Since then it has been regularly modernised and now carries about 25 million passengers every day across a pan-India track network spanning over 100,000 kilometres. At the same time, train accidents, especially deadly derailments akin to the Balasore tragedy have taken place multiple times- five of them after the turn of the millennium. The 2022 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), on “Derailments in Indian Railways”, had flagged multiple shortcomings and made several recommendations. The focus of the audit was to ascertain whether measures to prevent derailments and collisions were clearly laid down and implemented by the Ministry of Railways. The report said that there were “shortfalls ranging from 30% to 100% in inspections” carried out by track recording cars which assess the geometrical and structural conditions of the tracks. It revealed that the major factor responsible for derailment was related to “maintenance of track” (171 cases), followed by “deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits” (156 cases). The report pressed on the need to mechanise inspections and to have stringent monitoring systems to timely implementation of maintenance activities. Importantly, just days before the present incident, The Hindu on May 31 reported on the Railway Board’s concerns about the increase in train accidents across the rail network. The number of consequential train accidents reported in 2022-23 had risen to 48, compared to 35 in the previous year. The board emphasised the shortage of manpower and flagged the problem of overworked locomotive pilots. While the reason behind the collision and derailment is yet to be ascertained, the devastating accident raises questions about the state of the Indian railways, adequate personnel, implementation of safety, quality and maintenance measures and overall accountability to the millions who rely on their services every day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu Explains Explained | What are the friction points on the LAC? Explained | China’s ‘secret’ police stations abroad Explained | A new ‘smart bandage’ raises the bar for treating chronic wounds The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz The Indian Men’s Test Cricket squad is set to face which country on June 7 in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final? South Africa Australia West Indies New Zealand To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 04 June 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Balasore train tragedy | Death toll rises, government indentifies “root cause” On Saturday, the [death toll in the Friday evening]( train accident at Bahanaga Bazaar railway station of Odisha’s Balasore district [rose sharply to 288]( while 1,091 injured persons were being provided medical assistance. Fifty-six of those in hospital had been grievously injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the site, said that “all types of investigations”. Had been ordered into the incident and the guilty would “not be spared”. Seven units of the National Disaster Response Force, five units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 24 fire services units were immediately pressed into service. However, the magnitude of the accident was so high that disaster response personnel aided by local people took the whole of Friday night and Saturday morning to pull out the bodies from the wreckage. While final results of probes are not out yet, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who reviewed the restoration work at the Balasore triple train collision site on June 4, said the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. Meanwhile, a preliminary investigation by a multi-disciplinary team of railway officials has indicated that a signalling failure may have been a cause of Friday’s railway accident involving three trains in Odisha. Besides, as per officials, [none of the trains in the crash was equipped with anti-collision equipment]( nor was the section covered by the National Automatic Train Protection System or Kavach. An investigation is being held into whether the Coromandel Express switched routes, or whether it went on the route of the freight train after the derailment. Because this will determine whether an anti-collision system could have even been of help. Notably, the country’s expansive railway system was built in the 19th century colonial times. Since then it has been regularly modernised and now carries about 25 million passengers every day across a pan-India track network spanning over 100,000 kilometres. At the same time, train accidents, especially deadly derailments akin to the Balasore tragedy have taken place multiple times- five of them after the turn of the millennium. The 2022 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), on “Derailments in Indian Railways”, [had flagged multiple shortcomings]( and made several recommendations. The focus of the audit was to ascertain whether measures to prevent derailments and collisions were clearly laid down and implemented by the Ministry of Railways. The report said that there were “shortfalls ranging from 30% to 100% in inspections” carried out by track recording cars which assess the geometrical and structural conditions of the tracks. It revealed that the major factor responsible for derailment was related to “maintenance of track” (171 cases), followed by “deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits” (156 cases). The report pressed on the need to mechanise inspections and to have stringent monitoring systems to timely implementation of maintenance activities. Importantly, just days before the present incident, [The Hindu on May 31 reported]( on the Railway Board’s concerns about the increase in train accidents across the rail network. The number of consequential train accidents reported in 2022-23 had risen to 48, compared to 35 in the previous year. The board emphasised the shortage of manpower and flagged the problem of overworked locomotive pilots. While the reason behind the collision and derailment is yet to be ascertained, the devastating accident raises questions about the state of the Indian railways, adequate personnel, implementation of safety, quality and maintenance measures and overall accountability to the millions who rely on their services every day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. [Click here](. The Hindu Explains [Arrow][Explained | What are the friction points on the LAC?]( [Arrow][Explained | China’s ‘secret’ police stations abroad]( [Arrow][Explained | A new ‘smart bandage’ raises the bar for treating chronic woundsÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz The Indian Men’s Test Cricket squad is set to face which country on June 7 in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final? - South Africa - Australia - West Indies - New Zealand To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here.]( [Sign up for free]( [[Maoist leader Katakam Sudarshan passes away in Chhattisgarh] Maoist leader Katakam Sudarshan passes away in Chhattisgarh]( [[Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti issued passport after three years] Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti issued passport after three years]( [[Odisha train accident: Teams working round the clock to restore tracks] Odisha train accident: Teams working round the clock to restore tracks]( [[After text messages on phone, extreme weather alerts on TV, radio soon] After text messages on phone, extreme weather alerts on TV, radio soon]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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