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'Shocking...signalling failure': Opposition on Coromandel train crash; ‘…used to resign’
The toll of Coromandel train accident reached 238, 15 hours after the triple train crash in Odisha. Opposition demanded rail minister's resignation.
While railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ordered a high-level investigation into the triple train crash in Odisha that led to the deaths of over 230 people while over 900 were left injured, a political blame game started with the opposition leaders blaming 'signalling failure' for the consecutive crashes involving Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, Howrah-bound Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train.
Odisha triple train crash: Follow LIVE updates
"That an alleged signalling failure led to 3 trains crashing is shocking beyond belief. These are serious questions which need answering," Trinamool spokesperson Saket Gokhale said.
It is not yet known how the three trains piled on one another. Initial reports said the Bengaluru-Howrah train on the down line derailed at 6.55pm and the Coromandel derailed at 7pm on the up line. The derailed coaches of the Coromandel collided with the Bengaluru-Howrah first and then with a goods train.
As demands for the resignation of Ashwini Vaishnaw grew stronger, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar said when such accidents used to happen earlier, the railway minister used to resign. "But now no one is ready to speak," Pawar said.
CPI leader Binoy Viswam said the government's only concentration was on luxury trains while trains and tracks for common people remain neglected. "Government concentrate only on luxury trains. Trains and tracks of common people are neglected. Orissa deaths are the result of it. Rail minister should resign," Binoy Viswam tweeted.
Coromandel train accident: Questions being raised on 'kavach'
Questioning the triple train crash in Odisha, many social media users shared the video of railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explaining the 'kavach' security system. Kavach is an anti-train collision system and the Indian Railways is in the process of installing it across its network. Kavach alerts when a loco pilot jumps a signal (Signal Passed at Danger -- SPAD), which is the leading cause of train collisions. The system can alert the loco pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.
