New Delhi, Sept. 13: A railway inquiry has said the Sainthia crash that claimed 66 lives was caused by the “failure” of the Uttar Banga Express drivers to stop the train, without specifying what had led them to do so.
The preliminary report of the commissioner of railway safety, eastern circle, does not address the most vital question dogging investigators: why were the brakes not applied?
The answer cannot come without the viscera report, which is expected “soon” from a parallel investigation being conducted by the CID.
The report by safety commissioner R.P. Yadav said it was “intriguing” that the two Uttar Banga drivers, both of whom died when their train rammed into the stationary Vananchal Express from the rear on July 19, had ignored the stop signal.
Also, their train was running at a speed of 87kmph, much higher than what should be while approaching a station.
A Railway Board member said from Delhi that “there is nothing particularly new” in the report. “We still don’t know why the train did not slow down, why no effort was made to stop the train or why it jumped the red signal.”
The train was running at such high speed despite a scheduled stoppage at Sainthia and a bridge before the station for which there was a temporary speed restriction of 30kmph. “The complete inaction on the part of the loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot simultaneously is a matter of intrigue,” the report said.
A senior CID official said this evening that the viscera report was “expected soon”. “We hope that this will resolve the mystery around the accident.”
After probing the circumstances leading to the crash, a section of rail officials had suspected that the Uttar Banga drivers had become unconscious. This, they believe, was the reason why the brakes were not applied.
“There can be no other reason,” a railway official had said a day after the accident. “Otherwise it would amount to committing suicide by the driver and the assistant driver, which is absolutely unlikely.”
The report said the Uttar Banga crew had adequate route knowledge. “All of them had adequate rest,” the report said, echoing claims by officials earlier.
