NEW DELHI: Initial probe has revealed that one of the suspected cause of the derailment of Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express train accident in which at least three people have died is that the driver of the train was not informed to slow down the train as ten minutes ago a major flaw on the track was rectified. It is essential that once the track is repaired under the category of IMR which means ‘immediate release’ of defective track,’ the driver of the arriving train is informed to restrict the speed to twenty to thirty kilometres in order to avoid any mishap from happening.
In this case of derailment of Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Train, the driver did not get any caution message with regards to restricting the speed.
A senior railway official spoke on the condition of anonymity and explained the details of the accident wherein he highlighted that out of the 23 coaches, 19 coaches had derailed. The ones that had not derailed were the engine, the power car and the last four coaches.
He further informed that the six of the derailed coaches had capsized and more damage happened since the side on which the train derailed, there was a vertical slope and formation cut by rain water. This means that the whole area was filled with rain water and it is here that the train coaches capsized, thereby resulting in more damage. Had, it been a plain area, the extent of damage could have been minimised.
Restoration work carried on war footing
Post the accident of Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Train, the railway officials quickly swung into action and worked for 36 hours continuously to restore normalcy. CPRO North Eastern Railway Pankaj Kumar informed the media that more than 800 workers were deployed to ensure that operations for the up-line start soon.
Once the news of the derailment came to the fore, medical teams were rushed to the spot along with senior officials from the Lucknow division of NER. Apart from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) inquiry, a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the rail derailment accident.
The senior officials of the railways who were present at the site of the accident to oversee the restoration work included occasion GM NE Railway Saumya Mathur; Member Railway Board Satish Kumar; Additional Member Railway Board Amit Kumar; DRM Lucknow, Aditya Kumar; PCEE Electrical, KK Singhal; PCME MK Agarwal; Chief Electrical Engineer RK Gupta; Chief Loco Engineer Anurag; Chief Distribution Engineer Suresh; CTE and many other senior officials.
Police officials and security perssonel were also seen at the site of the accident so as combat any untoward incident from happening.
The train derailed near Gonda station in between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations under the jurisdiction of North Eastern Railway at about 2:37 pm on July 18. As many as 4-5 coaches of the Dibrugarh Express train from the front got derailed.
The Ministry of Railways has announced ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous injury, and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries in the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailment.’
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