Safety commissioner submitted report regarding Balasore accident, the reason behind the accident came to the fore

A report by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has made a major disclosure related to the causes of the Balasore train accident, stating that the accident happened due to wrong signaling. The 40-page CRS report categorically states that the triple-train collision on June 2 was caused by a fault in the signal-circuit at Bahanaga Bazar station, due to which the Coromandel Express received a wrong signal.

what’s in the report

The Indian Express reported that there was incorrect labeling of wires inside the level-crossing location box, which went undetected for years. Because of that, there was a disturbance during the maintenance work.

The signaling department has been found mainly responsible for the accident. The station master has also been named in the report for failing to detect fault in the signaling control system. While the Signaling Department has been found primarily responsible, the Station Master who is part of the Operations Department has also been named for negligence.

The Indian Express wrote that according to the CRS report, which was submitted to the Railway Board last week, the signaling staff at the site reported that the fault occurred due to incorrect labeling at the terminal while replacing the ‘electric lifting barrier’ at the level crossing on the day of the accident. He told that the circuit of the point taking the train from one track to another had already been shifted.

In 2015, the complete wiring diagram was changed on paper and approved. This was done to show the technicians how to reconnect the wiring post maintenance. It is learned that the labeling was changed only on paper and not physically. Once again in 2018, negligence was done. The report states that it was a wrong move which led to wrong wiring and the incident.