Given the trend of the past couple of years, there is nothing very unusual about Train No 66017 (Chennai Beach-Vellore), MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) ramming into a stationary Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train, killing 10 people, but for the fact that, perhaps for the first time, it involved a suburban train.
The workhorses of economic activity for metros such as Mumbai, around 3,000 such EMU trains carry seven million commuters over 465 km of the Central and Western Railways suburban systems daily. With no other such mishap in its 154-year-long history, this incident is of great significance.
Rail transport is a 24/7 activity and, unlike the defence services, it is constantly at war, carrying passengers and goods come hell or high water. Whether it is foggy or there is blinding rain, trains must run, though sometimes at restricted speed in case of poor visibility.
In particular for the front line warriors, such as the drivers and motormen, being alert on duty is a basic necessity and ignoring track-side ?signals? not only places countless passengers and tonnes of valuable cargo in peril, but it also is suicidal.
A locomotive driver or motorman has to undergo a rigorous course at one of the zonal traffic training schools, after which he must embark on an intensive ?road learning? exercise running into months under the watchful eyes of an on-board inspector before he is certified to drive independently. He may not be flying a ?jumbo? jet but he has almost 1,500 lives depending on him to reach them safely to their destinations.
Periodic checking ensures that even if the signals are on the blink or not clearly visible, he will slow down, taking cues from familiar landmarks along the track. Maybe the motorman of MEMU 66017 was not fully familiar with this route, and could not place the defective signal correctly.
Passing a ?danger? signal is virtually impossible for an alert or careful driver, especially when an ?assistant? is provided to keep a lookout for track side signals as well as be in visual contact with the staff at wayside stations while passing through.
Such an assistant, however, is not provided to the motorman on an EMU or MEMU train, since these are frequently stopping at short intervals of a few minutes or so at dozens of stations en-route, and the possibility for him to doze off is rather remote.
However, as a safety measure, all EMUs as well as MEMUs are fitted with an ?anti-collision device? in the form of a ?dead man?s handle?, which is basically a spring-loaded handle to regulate the speed of the train.
It has to be continuously kept pressed, and if the hand is taken off, as it might in the event of the driver losing consciousness or any other untoward incident, power is cut off from the traction motors, emergency brakes are automatically applied and the train comes to a grinding halt!
On MEMU 66017, did the dead man?s handle malfunction, or did the brakes suddenly become defective, or was it just too late for them to be of any use?
In addition, rigid hours of employment ensure that the drivers or motormen are fully rested and physically fit before reporting for duty. Random breathalyser tests ensure that they are not under the influence of liquor either and, on reporting for duty, they are briefed in detail on all ongoing speed restrictions applicable to the section he is about to travel. Did the motorman enjoy his full rest as mandated or was some problem nagging him while on duty?
From the first reports, it appears that the driver had stopped at Arkonam junction before proceeding further, and had passed a number of track side signals shining yellow, which signifies caution. It is apparent that he was in full possession of his faculties, and reportedly jumped out of the driver?s cabin a few minutes before the crash, while the train was still moving.
Trains being stopped short of a station because the platform is not clear is not unusual, as had happened to the Arkonam-Katpadi passenger, and ?automatic? colour light signals ensure short block sections to achieve optimum through-put when the traffic is dense and fast moving, as was the case at the Chennai-Arkonam section.
However, even a single signal going on the blink can lead to a severe slow down and perhaps the motorman of 66017 failed to notice this and react in time. Unless, of course, he totally missed the signal, which was protecting the rear of the Katpadi passenger train, and which may have been defective.
Given the sequence of events and the bizzare behaviour of the motorman, the exact cause of the accident will remain a mystery until detailed investigations are carried out by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and the cause of the unfortunate accident is firmly established?soon!
The author is former member, Railway Board acharya@bol.net.in