Days after the deadly triple train accident in Odisha, the Coromandel Express train is set to resume operation on Wednesday, June 7. “The Coromandel Express is ready to resume service on Wednesday,” said Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Aditya Kumar Chaudhary.
Chaudhary stated that the Coromandel Express train will start its journey from Shalimar station at 3:20 pm on Wednesday. In addition to this, the Railway chief PRO stated that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 16.10 crore has been given to over 536 people.
On June 2, the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express collided with a halted freight train, causing several coaches to derail onto the opposite track near Balasore’s Bahanaga Railway Station. Coromandel Express carriages derailed near Bahanaga Railway Station and ‘infringed’ on the opposing track.
Following that, the Howrah Express, which was running from Yesvantpur to Howrah, crashed into the affected carriages at high speed, leading to further derailment. The accident claimed 288 lives and injured over 1,000 people.
CBI takes over Odisha train accident probe
On Tuesday, June 6, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officially took over the investigation into the Odisha triple train accident after Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday announced that a CBI probe has been recommended in the matter.
The CBI team inspected the damaged coaches of the two passenger trains on Tuesday and inquired regarding the signalling system at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station since its initial findings suggested that a signalling malfunction may have caused the collision. The CBI officials reportedly looked for relevant documents and sought data-logger records. Officials also went to the Balasore railway station to gather evidence.
Meanwhile, the CBI has registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 337 (who causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others), 304 A (causing death by negligence), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Following the announcement of the CBI investigation, the Railways announced a week-long nationwide safety push on signalling systems, with a special emphasis on the existing “double locking” arrangement of its signalling apparatus at stations.