Rail minister says 'change in electronic interlocking' behind Odisha tragedy

The root cause of the three-train crash in Odisha's Balasore district and the people responsible for it have been identified, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday as rescue work at the site of the accident ended with the Railways aiming to restore normal services on the affected tracks in the next few days. The three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and a goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in the Balasore district.

An electric point machine is a vital device for railway signalling for quick operation and locking of point switches and plays an important role in the safe running of trains. Failure of these machines severely affects train movement and deficiencies at the time of installation can result in unsafe conditions. Electronic Interlocking (EI) are being adopted on a large scale to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. Electronic Interlocking are being adopted on a large scale to derive benefits of digital technologies in train operation and to enhance safety. Electronic Interlocking systems have been provided at 347 stations during 2022-23. So far 2888 stations have been provided with Electronic Interlocking up to 31 December covering 45.5% of Indian Railways network.

The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it... It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking," Vaishnaw said.The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 pm on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore. At least 288 people were dead and over 1,100 injured in the accident, the worst rail accident in India in nearly three decades.