Balasore: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is overseeing the restoration work at the Balasore triple train collision site, on Sunday said that the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.
The Balasore train accident where two passenger trains and a goods carriage were involved claimed 288 lives so far while over 1,000 people sustained injuries.
Ashwini Vaishnaw told ANI that the Commissioner of Railway Safety has investigated the matter and identified the cause of the incident and also the people responsible for it.
“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 was quoted by ANI as saying.
Further, the Railway Minister stated that the focus right now is on the restoration and the target is to finish the work by Wednesday morning.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track,” Vaishnaw added.
Shedding light on the assumption that the mishap took place as the route lacks the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Kavach, the Railway Minister said, “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to change in electronic interlocking”.
Reportedly, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are present at the accident site in Balasore to look over the ongoing restoration work.
“It is our responsibility to establish normalcy as early as possible. Restoration work is underway. Indian Railways is running free trains and logistic facilities are also being provided. The death toll has crossed 270. The inquiry for the cause is underway. We will take strict action against the persons responsible for this,” Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI.
As per latest development, all 21 coaches which capsized due to derailment of trains at Bahanaga Bazar Station have been grounded and the site is being cleared. Further, three wagons and locomotive upper part will be grounded.