Balasore: The southeastern railway here on Saturday stated that traffic on the Howrah-Chennai route will be restored soon after the restoration work in the accident spot where three trains crashed claiming 288 lives. It is learnt that the railways have been planning to restore the traffic by Wednesday. As per the press release issued by the railways, 56 passengers have suffered grievous injuries while the number of injured people crossed 1,000.
Preliminary reports suggest a possible error in signalling may have led to the horrific crash Friday evening.
Restoration work is underway on a war footing at the accident spot here. Media reports revealed that all 21 coaches which derailed have been grounded. Ministry of Railways reported that over 1,000 men are deployed for the work which commenced by noon on Saturday. At present more than 7 poclain machines, 2 accident relief trains, and 4 railway and road cranes are deployed for early restoration.
Talking to ANI, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, Chief Public Relations Officer of South Eastern Railway confirmed that capsized bogies of the passenger trains have been removed from the track.
“ Two bogies of goods train also have been removed. The work of connecting the track is going on from one side. We will finish the work as soon as possible,” said the official.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site and promised stringent action against those who are responsible for the accident.
"I do not have words to express my pain... No one would be spared and strong action would be taken against those found guilty. Instructions have been given to ensure proper and speedy investigation into the tragedy," Modi said, adding that more focus will be given to the security of rail passengers.
The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.
Twenty-one coaches were derailed and severely damaged in the accident, trapping hundreds of passengers. Both passenger trains were at a high speed and it has been cited by experts as one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties.
From a vantage point high above the ground, the disaster site looked as if a powerful whirlwind had thrown the coaches like toys on top of each other. Closer to the ground, bloodied, disfigured bodies and dismembered body parts lay enmeshed, creating a grotesque sight.
Large cranes were deployed to move the wreckage and gas cutters were used to extricate the bodies from the mangled, toppled coaches.
The rescue operation was wrapped up Saturday afternoon and restoration work started. With traffic on the route disrupted, over 150 trains were cancelled, diverted or short-terminated.
(With agency inputs)
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