Building foolproof systems to prevent such horrific accidents from happening again and fixing systemic flaws are major challenges
Post Date – 12:15 AM, Friday – July 23rd 14th
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested three railway employees on June 2 after a technical error caused one of India’s worst railway disasters in the Balasore district of Odisha state, initiating a wave of swift punitive action. precedent, and put an end to a string of conspiracy theories. The bigger challenge now, however, is to create foolproof systems that prevent such horrific accidents from happening again and fix systemic flaws. A senior section engineer in charge of the signal wing, a section engineer and a technician have been detained on charges of manslaughter not constituting murder, destroying evidence and providing false information to protect criminals. A senior rail investigation has found that wrong signals and failures at multiple levels were the main causes of the accident. It also shows that tragedies could have been avoided had past red flags been ignored and corrective actions taken. In a report to the Council of British Industry (CBI), the Commissioner for Rail Safety (CRS) said one of the main causes of the three trains crashing was wrong labeling of electrical wires inside level crossing location boxes, which led to mixed maintenance work up. The report placed the primary responsibility for the accident on the signaling department. However, it also said the station master failed to detect “unusual behavior” in the signal control system. The CRS report said that the location boxes connecting the signal-related wires contained the wrong letter and therefore showed the wrong function.
CRS recommends a 14-point action plan to upgrade safety parameters to prevent such tragedies. The key is to strengthen the signaling and technical infrastructure across the network, and to enforce stricter inspections during repair and overhaul work. The issuance of certificates of competency to trained staff is a proposal that needs to be rolled out across all government departments responsible for ensuring public safety. Nearly a third of rail accidents due to equipment failure in 2021-22 will be attributed to signaling equipment. Human resource issues such as the slow pace of infrastructure upgrades and staff shortages require urgent intervention. The practice of taking unauthorized shortcuts to comply with timelines and the tendency to shift responsibility from one department to another point to the need for an independent safety regulator. Safety is paramount and can only be ensured through corrective actions at the operational and planning levels. The heartbreaking tragedy involving three trains – two passenger trains traveling in opposite directions and a stationary freight train – near Bahanagarbazar station claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured more than 800. People get hurt. The tragedy has also raised questions about the slow pace of the railroad’s adoption of Kavach, the anti-collision technology.
