Railway Board Member on Odisha train tragedy: ‘Trying to connect as many people as possible’

Jaya Varma Sinha, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, said that they are trying to connect as many people as possible following the Odisha train collision tragedy. ANI quoted her as saying, “Our helpline number 139 is available. This is not a call centre number, our senior officers are answering the calls and we are trying to connect as many people as possible. The family members of the injured or deceased can call us and we will make sure that they are able to meet them. We will take care of their journey and other expenses.”

The accident occurred on Friday, June 2, when the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express derailed and collided with a stationary goods train. From a different track, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express got crashed into the derailed compartments soon after the initial crash. Talking about the accident, she continued, “The goods train did not get derailed. Since the goods train was carrying iron ores, the maximum damage of the impact was on Coromandel Express. This is the reason for a huge number of deaths and injuries. The derailed bogies of Coromandel Express came on the down line, and hit the last two bogies of Yashwantpur Express which was crossing at the speed of 126 km/h from down line.”

Varma also said that the preliminary findings state that there has been some issue with the signalling. “We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandal Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/h,” she added.

On Friday, at around 7 pm, near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express is believed to have had a collision with a stationary goods train. From a different track, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express got crashed into the derailed compartments soon after the initial crash. The two passenger trains, travelling at a high speed believed to be carrying almost 2000 passengers on board. 17 coaches were derailed in the tragic accident.