NEW DELHI: Amid debate over whether loco pilot was at fault or signalling system was behind the fatal accident in West Bengal, officials said seven trains, including the Kanchanjunga Express and the goods train which rammed it, were issued authority letters to pass the defective automatic signalling system. Barring the goods train, the other six had passed with the paper authority or T/A-912 following the speed restriction.
Officials said the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the goods train had joined duty after more than 30 hours rest. Giving details of procedure followed in such cases where automatic signal fails and paper pass is issued, an official said a train is made to stop at the foot of each signal for 1 minute in the day and 2 minutes at night.
“Thereafter, the train can proceed towards the next stop signal exercising great caution so as to stop short of any obstruction with a speed not exceeding 15 kmph in case of good visibility and 10 kmph when the visibility is not good,” he added. Though a detailed inquiry will establish the exact cause of the accident, railway officials said it seemed the loco pilot of the goods train did not observe the condition of stopping for 2 minutes before the red signal and did not follow the 15 kmph speed restriction.
An official said Kanchanjunga Express had stopped before red signal when the goods train rammed it. Officials said automatic signalling is installed on double or multiple line sections having high traffic density to be able to carry more trains with minimum detention.
Signal failure occurred between Rangapani and Chetterhat stations at 5.50 am on Monday and this was communicated to the signal department. The signal department did not declare the failure as “prolonged failure” and hence automatic block system continued to be in force.
Officials said the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the goods train had joined duty after more than 30 hours rest. Giving details of procedure followed in such cases where automatic signal fails and paper pass is issued, an official said a train is made to stop at the foot of each signal for 1 minute in the day and 2 minutes at night.
“Thereafter, the train can proceed towards the next stop signal exercising great caution so as to stop short of any obstruction with a speed not exceeding 15 kmph in case of good visibility and 10 kmph when the visibility is not good,” he added. Though a detailed inquiry will establish the exact cause of the accident, railway officials said it seemed the loco pilot of the goods train did not observe the condition of stopping for 2 minutes before the red signal and did not follow the 15 kmph speed restriction.
An official said Kanchanjunga Express had stopped before red signal when the goods train rammed it. Officials said automatic signalling is installed on double or multiple line sections having high traffic density to be able to carry more trains with minimum detention.
Signal failure occurred between Rangapani and Chetterhat stations at 5.50 am on Monday and this was communicated to the signal department. The signal department did not declare the failure as “prolonged failure” and hence automatic block system continued to be in force.