How did the electronic interlocking system go wrong?

Talked to the pilot 15 minutes after the accident

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety is awaited. Railway officials also gave information about the pilot and other staff of the Coromandel Express. Railway Board’s Operation Business and Development Member Jaya Verma Sinha told that I spoke to the pilot of Coromandel Express only 15 minutes after the news of the accident came. The pilot was then conscious. He told that I got green signal to go straight and the train was going in that direction. After telling this, the pilot fainted. His treatment is going on in the hospital. His condition is quite critical

goods train guard saved

On the other hand, the guard of the goods train on which the engine of the Coromandel train ran, survived. According to Jaya Verma, the guard is responsible for checking anything in the goods train. When the accident happened, the guard of the goods train got down and was investigating. Because of this he survived. The third train which met with the accident was the Yeshwantpur Express. The TT of that train was in the first bogie of the two rear bogies. The rear 2 coaches of this train have been damaged. TT said that he had never heard such a terrible sound of this accident. It seemed as if something was coming from behind trampling everything. Didn’t know for a moment what happened. There was a loud collision and then the coaches derailed.

how did the accident happen

• 12864 Coromandel Express traveling from Howrah to Chennai was received green signal to go on main line near Bahanga Bazar station in Balasore district.
• Due to a fault in the electronic interlocking system, it diverted to the loop line where an iron-laden goods train was already standing.
• At a speed of 128 km/h, the engine of the Coromandel Express rammed into the goods train inside the speed limit.
• 21 coaches of Coromandel fell on the adjacent (down main line) track due to this accident.
• The Yesvantpur-Howrah Express, which was going towards Howrah on the same down line, collided with the derailed coaches and its two coaches also got derailed and the accident happened.

What is electronic interlocking system, how does it work?

• The interlocking system of the railway is such a technology, which controls the signal of the railway and accordingly the alteration of the tracks.
• There are two types of interlocking systems in railways, one is the computer-controlled electronic interlocking system, the other is the manual system that changes the route by pulling a lever.
• Similarly, the rail track is also divided into up, down and loop lines. There was an electronic interlocking system on the route of the accident.
• This system gives green signal to the train after seeing the track empty and the train leaves directly on the main line.
• If the track is busy, the system gives a yellow signal and the train is diverted from the main line to the loop (outer line).
• Coromandel had a green signal at the site of the accident, but due to some glitch in the electronic interlocking system, it went on the loop line. It is being investigated why this happened.

How can there be a fault in the system

Railways has ruled out manual tampering with the electronic interlocking system. According to Railway Board member Jaya Verma Sinha, there is no 99.9% chance of error in this computer-controlled system, but there can be 0.1% error. If any maintenance work is going on in the electronic interlocking system, someone has dug a pit and the cable has been cut, the weather there, there has been some cut-torn around or someone has tried to tamper with the computer, then it may be a problem. Can It is being investigated.

What are the obstacles coming in the investigation

At the place of the train accident, the tracks have been uprooted, the wires have been broken, the signals have also fallen, the point system is over. In such a situation, the reasons for the accident are not known immediately, but the digital data has been seized. He will come to know and is going on. Railway officials say that the accident is being investigated like a murder case. The statements of the witnesses are being recorded. Evidence is being collected. Every side is being heard. This is a very complex incident.