A quick check of the signalling system around the site of collision between two trains near Gorakhpur on Tuesday night showed it was in working order. “Our preliminary assessment thus shows that it was the loco pilot who had jumped the signal and was at fault,” said a senior officer here.
While the statutory investigation will take time, the officer said staff failure would reopen the debate about drivers overstressed due to shortage of personnel in key safety posts and the extremely slow pace of providing advance warning systems such as the anti-collision device.
“While we are aiming to restructure the way the Railways is run and are introducing semi-high-speed and bullet trains, we are equally focussed on improving the basics,” he said.
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“Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has already observed that the focus this year will be on pending works. Many safety-related tasks fall in this category. We should see a further improvement ...,” he said.