Balasore tragedy: One year later, trauma persists for train drivers
At least 293 passengers were killed and 1,100 others injured in the Balasore triple train tragedy in Odisha on June 2 last year
A little before 7pm on Friday June 2, 2023, the Coromandel Express collided with a stationary iron ore-laden goods train at Bahanaga Bazar station; some of its derailed coaches then crashed into the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express, resulting in India’s worst railway disaster in three decades that killed 293 passengers and left 1,100 injured. A year later, the loco pilots of the Coromandel Express that was in the transit from Shalimar (Howrah) to Chennai are yet to resume their duties.
“They are psychologically as well as physically not ready yet,” a Bhubaneswar based official said on condition of anonymity, expressing that both the train drivers have now been able to walk with support and have been given on-ground duties.
The loco pilot Gunanidhi Mohanty, who joined the Indian Railways in 1996, was on duty as usual when the train he was operating had just crossed the Bahanaga Bazaar Railways station. As his train had no halt at the station, it was running at a full speed of 128 kmph. At the same time, another train SMVT Bengaluru- Howrah Express was running in the opposite direction. Both the trains had received green signals, indicating them to continue their journey.
The Coromandel Express, therefore, rightly continued straight on the UP main line but it was wrongly switched to the parallel UP loop line at full speed, where it collided with a stationary goods train laden with iron ore. As a result of this, 21 coaches of Coromandel Express derailed from the main line. However, three of the 21 derailed coaches rammed into the adjacent track and hit the tail end coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express.
Mohanty has partially returned to work, the official said. “He had fractures in his ribs and injuries on his legs. As a result of this, he was bedridden for three months and it is only sometime back that he has resumed office but not his work.
“Mohanty has been working at the station and has been handling rosters of loco- pilots at Bhubaneswar station. This is because he is not fit to fly yet, both mentally and physically,” he added.
“The assistant loco- pilot Hajari Behera too had to undergo a major hip joint surgery,” an official from South Eastern Railways (SER) said. “Both the loco pilots are much better. They are able to report to work but they are yet to be psychologically ready to resume their true duties,” he added. Behera is currently working at Khurda road station and is also handling the rostering of loco pilots, he said.
One of the SER officials who was at the accident spot said that the impact of the collision was such that both Mohanty and Behera were found lying near their seats in the cabin. “We found them to be severely injured and in a state of shock and rushed them to a nearby hospital at first. They were later shifted to a hospital in Bhubaneshwar,” he said.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety report pointed that faulty signalling due to two botched repair works, including one in 2018 and the other hours before the accident, led to the Coromandel Express being sent on a collision course with a goods train on another track.
The findings of the CRS, AM Chowdhary, attributed the cause of the Balasore train accident to “lapses” at multiple levels of the signalling and telecom (S&T) department.
It also pointed out that the tragedy could have potentially been avoided had the repeated glitches with the local signalling system been flagged, which could have led the staff to trace the mistake that was made earlier.
The case was, however, handed over to the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) to ensure that there was no foul play involved. The CBI had even arrested Arun Kumar Mahanta, senior section engineer (Signals), Mohammad Amir Khan, section engineer, and Pappu Kumar, technician in this regard.
A chargesheet filed by the central probe agency filed a chargesheet in September. It charged all three under Indian Penal Code Section 304 part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 34 read with 201 (common cause read with destruction of evidence) and 153 of the Railways Act.
Asked if there was any progress, the CBI officials did not comment on the matter.
A senior railway official said that the Indian Railway (IR) has been taking various initiatives to ensure that no such accident is repeated. “To increase safety awareness after the accident, IR conducted safety drives and inspections and safety seminars were conducted. Safety circulars and alerts were issued. We also conducted intra railways safety audit and conducted joint mock exercises with NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) in all divisions of SER,” he said.
The impact of the accident was such that the Indian Railways (IR) conducted an Independent Safety Audit of stations jointly by the safety team of the zonal level officers. 40 stations have been inspected till date, a second SER official said
“All station staff and Signal and Telecommunication (S&T) were counselled afresh through safety seminars, safety meetings on ‘one is to one’ basis and there were assurances taken. It was conducted by the zonal and divisional team,” he added.
Works for completion of S&T drawings have been undertaken on mission mode to clear the backlog at the earliest, an official at Bahanaga Bazar station said.
With an aim to avoid further mishaps, the IR had also conducted a detailed survey at Bahanaga Bazar station, the accident area. The existing foot-over bridge near the station has not only been strengthened but also has streetlights now. “As an upcoming task, the IR has sanctioned the construction of foot over bridges (FOB) so that people at the rail crossing can cross the area without any fear of a train passing by,” the official concluded.