Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday visited the train accident site in Odisha's Balasore in which over 230 people were killed and about 900 injured. Vishnaw said the immediate focus is on rescue and relief operations.
Vaishnaw on Friday announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those who have died, Rs 2 lakh for those seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries in the accident.
Meanwhile, the Railways has announced a high-level probe into the crash involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train. The committee will be headed by AM Chowdhary, commissioner of railway safety, South Eastern Circle.
While it is not clear what caused the crash, one of the deadliest in India in recent times, PTI sources indicate a possible signalling failure. In February, close on the heels of a head-on collision between two goods trains in Uttar Pradesh, the railways launched a month-long safety drive to prevent accidents such as derailment and overshooting of signals by loco pilots, according to reports.
It is also not clear if any of the trains involved in the crash were installed with the KAVACH system, anti-collision system that the Indian Railways has been installing across its network. Kavach alerts when a loco pilot jumps a signal, which is the leading cause of train collisions.
Events cancelled
The ceremony to flag off the inaugural Goa-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express at Madgaon station has been cancelled in the wake of the accident, Konkan railway officials said on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to flag off the Goa-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express through video link on Saturday morning while Vaishnaw was to remain present at Madgaon station for the ceremony.
The BJP also adjourned all its programmes, scheduled for Saturday, related to the Modi government's ninth anniversary in the wake of the tragic train accident.
