Coromandel derailment raises doubts over bullet trains

Two train mishaps in a gap of 12 hours after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced launching of bullet train, have raised doubts on feasibility of such high-speed trains.

Two train mishaps in a gap of 12 hours after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced launching of bullet train, have raised doubts on feasibility of such high-speed trains.

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While the first mishap took place due to derailment of Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express last evening in Orissa's Jajpur, another occurred when a passenger train collided head on with an engine in Bihar this morning.

"I don't think the Indian Railways is in a position to run bullet trains+, said Thomas Mathew, one of the passengers of the ill-fated Coromandel superfast express train.

Mathew, a retired teacher from Kerala, said the mishap showed poor maintenance of tracks.

Expressing similar views, senior BJD leader and MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra told reporters after visiting the mishap site that tracks in the country were too weak and fragile to be able to withstand very high-speed trains.

Many passengers including Dinakar Sarkar of West Bengal also raised doubts over safety in trains. "I don't think they can manage bullet trains," doubted B Tami, a woman passenger.

While the authorities were yet to assertain cause of the mishap, many feel that it could be due to human or technical error.

Ruling out sabotage, Jajpur SP DS Kutte told PTI that cause of derailment could be due to technical snag.