Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while discussing the latest safety measures being taken up by the Indian Railways, referred to the October 2023 Andhra train collision, on Saturday. Talking about the incident, the Railway Minister revealed that the driver and the assistant driver of one of the two passenger trains that collided were watching a cricket match on phone.
Which trains collided in October 2023?
One of the trains involved in the accident was the Rayagada Passenger train which hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa train from behind at 7 pm on October 29 on the Howrah-Chennai line in Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram district. The collison led to the death of 14 passengers, while 50 others were injured.
What did Ashwini Vaishnaw say?
As Vaishnaw revealed that the loco pilot and co-pilot were watching a cricket match, he added that the Indian Railways is now installing systems which will be able to detect any distractions and ensure the pilots and assistant pilots are entirely focussed on the train.
He further said that the Railways will continue focussing on safety. Vaishanw said that after every incident the Indian Railways tries to get to the root cause and come up with solutions so that the same is not repeated.
The full report from the Commissioners of Railway Safety (CRS) on the October collision is still pending public release. However, an initial investigation conducted the day after the accident attributed responsibility for the collision to the driver and assistant driver of the Rayagada Passenger train. They were found to have disregarded norms by passing two defective auto signals, resulting in the tragic accident that claimed both of their lives.
(With PTI inputs)