Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS) Janak Kumar Garg on Tuesday commenced investigation into the circumstances that led to the tragic rear end collision of a goods train with Train No 13174 Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express in Darjeeling district of West Bengal that left 10 passengers dead and 43 others injured.
According to a senior official in the Northeast Frontier Railway, Mr. Garg visited the scene of crash between Rangapani and Chattar Hat railway stations in the Katihar Division. He examined a few eyewitnesses and spoke to senior railway officials. The CCRS would soon meet officials and public who have knowledge about the accident to record their statements.
(The Commissioner of Railway Safety works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and investigates matters of safety of rail travel and train operations. The commissioner is entrusted with certain statutory functions as prescribed in the Railways Act, 1989.)
While traffic on one line was restored on Monday evening, the first train was operated on the second line early on Tuesday. Normal traffic had been restored on both lines. The relief and rescue operations were complete. Among those injured in the accident, nine passengers had suffered grievous wounds and steps were taken to ensure proper treatment to them, the official said.
To address passenger grievances and emergency situations, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has ordered setting up of ‘War Room’ in all Zonal and Divisional Headquarters across the railway network in the country.
According to railway sources, the ‘War Room’ headed by a senior officer was established in the control room with commercial department staff to function round-the-clock. Besides passenger complaints flagged in ‘Rail Madad’ application, social media platforms and other medium, the ‘War Room’ would also coordinate with relevant departments/agencies in the event of any exigency. The functioning of the new facility would come under the direct supervision of the respective General Managers/Divisional Railway Managers, the sources said.
Loco pilots seek training
Meanwhile, the All India Loco Running Staff Association has said a representation was given to the Northeast Frontier Railway General Manager last year requesting adequate exposure and training to loco pilots in automatic signaling routes.
In the petition, AILRSA Branch Secretary S.S. Thakur said loco pilots were being forced to work in the automatic signaling system without any training or competency certificate which could result in their being victimised. “So, we request that without any proper training and competency certificate no loco running staff be engaged to work in the above [automatic signaling] system,” he said.
The rules pertaining to operating trains during failures in automatic signalling sections were amended by the Northeast Frontier Railway in November 2023. The section dealing with the duties of loco pilots/motorman when an automatic stop signal is in red was revised. Going by the norms that came into effect on November 10, 2023, “When encountering an automatic signal at ‘ON’ (red) aspect and after waiting for the prescribed time, the loco pilot should proceed with great caution at a speed not exceeding 15 kmph where visibility is good and not exceeding 10 kmph where visibility is not good until the next stop signal, looking out for any possible obstruction and be prepared to stop short of the same.”
Asked if the loco pilots were exposed to these amended rules and whether they were given adequate training and competency certificates, a senior official in the zone said reply to the questions could not be given immediately as officers were busy with the ongoing CCRS inspection. However, he said loco pilots would have “certainly be trained adequately and competency certificates given before deploying them on duties in the automatic signaling territory.”
Published - June 18, 2024 09:02 pm IST
