BALASORE, India—According to authorities, the catastrophe in eastern India that left 275 people dead and hundreds injured was brought on by a mistake in the electronic signaling system that caused a train to switch tracks incorrectly and collide with a freight train.
In one of the deadliest rail accidents to hit the nation in decades, two passenger trains derailed Friday night in Balasore district of Odisha state, and authorities are still working to clean the twisted debris.
The dead toll was increased to 275 in a declaration from the state of Odisha.
An iron ore-laden freight train was struck by the high-speed Coromandel Express after it entered an adjacent loop line after receiving a signal to run on the main track line, according to preliminary investigations, according to senior railway official Jaya Verma Sinha.
The oncoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the opposite side also derailed as a result of the incident, which overturned the carriages of the Coromandel Express onto a different track.
She claimed that the 2,296-person passenger trains were not traveling at excessive speeds. In order to make room for a passing train on the main route, freight trains are frequently stopped on a nearby loop line.
Verma said that an issue with the electrical signaling system was the primary cause of the accident. She said that a thorough inquiry will determine if the error was technical or human-made.
A safety device called the electronic interlocking system was created to stop trains from moving in opposition to one another. Additionally, it keeps an eye on the condition of signals that inform drivers of the presence of stopped trains on the track, the speed limit, and their proximity to the next train.
“The system is 99.9 percent error free. But 0.1 percent chances are always there for an error,” Verma said. To a question whether the crash could be a case of sabotage, she said “nothing is ruled out.”
On Sunday, all that remained of the catastrophe were a few broken, wrecked, and upturned carriages. In order to restore the damaged lines, railroad personnel labored in the glare of the sun to place cement blocks on the ground. To clean the collision scene, a team using excavators was clearing mud and debris.
