NIA team visits train accident site in TN, experts flag lapses

Investigation teams from the Railways and the counterterror National Investigation Agency (NIA) inspected the site where the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati express crashed into a stationary freight train the previous evening as authorities attempted to piece together what caused the high-speed collision that has left nine people injured.
Officials aware of the matter said the Indian Railways is considering multiple scenarios, including “external factors”, even as former rail officials and union workers called for a quick and thorough investigation, especially given its similarities with the 2023 Balasore train crash, which was one of the deadliest incidents on the network in decades.
“While CRS (commissioner of railway safety) has begun investigation into the accident, a team of NIA officials visited the accident spot on Saturday morning. This is because the Indian Railways is not ruling out the possibility of external factors that caused the train to enter into the loop line,” one of the officials mentioned above said.
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The reference was to the train having switched tracks to enter a parallel one where the goods train was parked. News agency PTI cited unnamed officials as saying that a data logger showed the line change.
“Based on the information available in the public domain, it appears that this collision almost repeats the Balasore train collision of June 2, 2023. The railways should take a serious approach to remove the anomalies in the signalling system,” PTI quoted R Kumaresan, president, All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), Southern Railway, as saying.
Another expert who spoke to HT agreed with the characterisation that the crash was similar to the Balasore incident. “It is no less than a miracle that the loco pilots are unharmed if the train speed was at 75kmph,” said another former Railways official, requesting anonymity.
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“Investigations will reveal the exact speed of the train and cause of the accident but this appears to be the same case like the one in Balasore,” he added.
Dilip Kumar, executive director (Information & Publicity) of the Railway Board, confirmed the CRS investigation but did not give any details.
A former railway board member (engineering) said the accident, which took place near the Kavaraippettai railway station, appeared to be the result of “an interlocking system failure”.
A Southern Railway official, who asked not to be named, said the train was given a green signal to run through at the next station, Kavarapettai, via the mainline. This person added that the train was estimated to be at a speed of 75k/hour.
The official said the impact of the collision may have been mitigated due timely braking by the loco pilots, which would have reduced speed. Another factor may have been the newer LHB coaches, which are designed to not pile atop one another in the event of a crash.
(With PTI inputs)