“Signalling-Circuit-Alteration” error cause 3 trains collided and 295 people died

“Signalling-Circuit-Alteration” error cause 3 trains collided and 295 people died

“Signalling-Circuit-Alteration” error cause 3 trains collided and 295 people died.

On June 2, three trains derailed and collided in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, killing 295 people and seriously injuring 176. It is India’s worst railway accident in decades.

At that time, a passenger train from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu collided with a freight train, and a passenger train collided with the accident train shortly afterwards, causing a total of 12 carriages to be destroyed and several carriages to derail.

source:screeshot from youtube

A month and a half after the incident, Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, citing the findings of the Railway Safety Commissioner’s report, said the accident was caused by a “signalling-circuit-alteration” error that resulted in a signal error.

The Indian Railway Safety Committee (CRS) gave a detailed explanation in the report:

The rear-end collision occurred as a result of a faulty signaling circuit change at the station’s North Signal Goomty and during signaling works to replace the electric lift barrier for the station’s Level Crossing 94 gate.

These errors resulted in train 12841 being affected by the wrong signal, that is, through the main line signal showing green, allowing the train to cross the main line of the station, but the intersection connecting the main line and the side line (junction 17A/B) was set as the side line;

At the same time, a wrong signal caused train 12841 to cross the siding, eventually colliding with freight car N/DDIP that was parked there.

After the accident, the Indian Railways once believed that the automatic electronic signal system on the night of the incident had been tampered with, which was suspected to be caused by human intervention in the electronic signal system.

The CRS report recommends following standard procedures for signal modification work. Any changes to signaling circuits should be made in the presence of officials and using approved circuit diagrams. A separate team should inspect and test the modified signal circuit and function before restoring or reconnecting work.