Andhra train tragedy: CM Jagan urges PM Modi, Railway minister to inspect all rail lines in India

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to inspect all rail lines in the country after the state witnessed a deadly double train collision. He made the appeal after the Rayagada Passenger train hit the Palasa Passenger train from behind at Kantakapalli, about 40 km from Visakhapatnam on Sunday night, causing three coaches to derail and claiming the lives of 14 passengers and injuring 50. 

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Jagan Mohan Reddy posted, "I sincerely request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to constitute a high level audit committee to thoroughly examine all these aspects, not just on this line but on all lines across the country." 

CM Reddy stressed the need for a nationwide audit in a bid to ensure that such devastating accidents do not recur. He posed three queries in connection with the horrifying accident where a running train collided with another stationary train on the same line:-

• Why did the braking system and alert system not function?
• Why did the signaling fail? 
• How did the communications system fail?

Expressing pain over the train mishap, the CM prayed for the families of the victims and assured them of full government support.

The Chief Minister on Monday evening visited the Vizianagaram government general hospital where the injured survivors are undergoing treatment in the wake of a train accident in Vizianagaram district.

https://t.co/5hGaUyaIZ1 pic.twitter.com/MLZmLyPXq7

— CMO Andhra Pradesh (@AndhraPradeshCM) October 30, 2023

Preliminary railway probe reveals Rayagada Passenger train crew at fault

As per the investigation, the driver and the assistant driver of the Rayagada Passenger train have been held responsible for the accident as they passed two defective auto signals violating the norms. Both the crew members were killed in the accident. The report was signed by seven experts, who carefully examined the accident site, available evidence, statements of officials concerned, data logger report, and the speedometer chart. The experts concluded that the Rayagada passenger train (08504) hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train (08532), which was running at a restricted speed, from the rear due to the crew of the former passing two defective auto signals.

"Hence, LP (loco pilot), SMS Rao, ALP (Assistant Loco Pilot) of Train no 08504 (Rayagada Passenger train) are held responsible," as per the report.

According to the railway norms, the Rayagada passenger train should have stopped for 2 minutes at the defective auto signals between the Kantakapalli-Alamanda (kpl-alm) section where the collision took place. The Visakhapatnam Palasa passenger train stopped at both the signals and then was proceeding at the restricted speed of 10 km per hour.

However, the Rayagada passenger train didn't follow these norms at both the defective signal and collided with the first train running at a restricted speed, according to the initial report. The Rayagada Passenger train hit the Visakhapatnam Palasa train from behind at 7 pm on October 29 on the Howrah-Chennai line in Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, claiming the lives of 14 people and injuring over 50 train passengers, the report said.