SILIGURI/KOLKATA: The goods train that rear-ended
Kanchanjungha Express
near north Bengal's New Jalpaiguri station Monday morning was traveling at more than 40kmph, nearly three times the maximum permissible speed of 15kmph on that section of the track due to a failure of the automatic signalling system, railway officials said Tuesday.
Adhering to the speed limit might have prevented the accident that resulted in the deaths of 10 people and injuries to 41 others.
Another official said the automatic system's failure necessitated a manual procedure, but the paper line clear ticket (PLCT) issued to the freight train's pilot, who died in the collision, did not explicitly mention the
speed restrictions
.
The investigation focuses on four people: the freight train's co-pilot, the stationmaster at Rangapani who issued the PLCTs, and the railway employees manning two level crossings between Rangapani station and the accident site, which is 11km from New Jalpaiguri station.
The Commission of
Railway Safety
(CRS) will question the quartet, with co-pilot Manu Kumar, who survived the crash, being a crucial witness.
Kumar is currently being treated for blunt trauma injuries in a Siliguri nursing home and remains under restricted access. Only his wife is allowed to meet him.
When a PLCT is issued, according to railway rules, a train driver should proceed with "great caution" for the next 14km, limiting speed to 15kmph in good visibility and 10kmph otherwise. Kanchanjungha Express, which received its PLCT at 8.20am, adhered to these restrictions.
Despite starting at least 15 minutes after the express, the goods train collided with it just 2.5 km from Rangapani, passing two level crossings. Officials said the freight train's driver may have been unaware of the need to proceed with caution, a point now central to the investigation.
The accident calls attention to the need to address
systemic issues
, including expanding the railway network, standardising
maintenance protocols
.
One primary issue is the congestion on tracks. Despite a network of 88,000km, only around 16,000km were added after Independence, while the number of trains introduced outpaced the addition of new tracks. This has led to a situation where trains operate on the same tracks every 4km. Tracks should ideally operate at 70% capacity, but many routes are running at 125%.
The outsourcing of maintenance to private firms has introduced inconsistencies, as different firms use different software systems, leading to a lack of uniformity and potential safety risks. "There are examples of carelessness, callousness or even criminality (sabotage)," the official said.
Loco pilots often work under strenuous conditions, sometimes for four or five consecutive nights due to a shortage of personnel. Railways has over 3.2 lakh vacancies, which contributes to this exhaustion and the risk of errors, the official said.
To prevent accidents, trial runs of the anti-collision device named Kavach is being conducted on Eastern Railway's 260km Howrah-Chhota Ambana section. However, full installation on the 3,000km Delhi-Howrah route will take several months and is expensive. Installing Kavach costs around Rs 50 lakh a km, and upgrading rakes costs another Rs 70 lakh apiece.
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