The loco pilot and shunting staff are blaming one another for the recent incident when two coaches of the Rajdhani Express derailed and crashed through a wall of the City Railway Station, according to an inquiry into the accident.
The train, which was being shunted, went through the wall of the railway yard and lodged itself in the compound of the Mahatma Gandhi Railway Colony, much to the bemusement of residents. Fortunately, no one was injured in the freak accident as it was a Sunday afternoon and the compound was deserted.
Senior officials in Southern Railway said the tracks in the railway yard did not have safety measures like signals or interlocking. Also, the track curvature is high. In the absence of signals, the shunting staff had been given walkie-talkies to communicate with loco pilots to ensure track clearance.
“The shunting staff member claims he had communicated to the driver (loco pilot) to stop. However, the driver is denying that he received the call to stop. Now, it is one person’s word against another’s. We may have no option but to book both of them for negligence”, said a senior official.
Meanwhile, Divisional Railway Manager Anil K. Agarwal said a three-member inquiry committee comprising senior officials, which is probing the matter, is expected to submit its report in a week’s time.
Terming the accident as “unfortunate”, Mr. Agarwal said the Railways will soon take steps to ensure that such incidents, which are a threat to public safety, do not recur. “We will begin by rebuilding a strong concrete wall along the boundary of the railway yard”, he said, adding that training sessions would be held for shunting staff and loco pilots.
He pointed out that at least 100 shunting operations are carried out every day at the City station.
