The Kanchanjunga Express train accident that killed 10 people in June 2024 was completely “avoidable” if officials had followed proper safety protocols, a report by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has revealed.
A goods train allegedly disregarded a signal and hit the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express near North Bengal’s Jalpaiguri station at 8.55 am in June. The accident took place in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district.
The CSR reports pinpoint the parties that should be held responsible for the mishap. It says the train collision was an “accident in waiting” and that there were “lapses at multiple levels” in managing train operations that led to the unfortunate event.
The CRS found that the primary responsibility for the accident lay with the station master and station superintendent of Rangapani railway station, as well as the chief loco inspector and traffic inspector of New Jalpaiguri.
The report indicates that the authority letter issued for passing the defective automatic signals was deficient, as it failed to specify the maximum permissible speed that the loco pilot should adhere to.
Furthermore, station staff were not well-equipped to issue proper authority in the event of signal failures.
“Due to improper authority and that too without adequate information, such an incident was ‘Accident-in-waiting’ and finally occurred on 17.06.2024… It is worthwhile to mention that there have been 275 failures in the auto (automatic signal) section of the Katihar division since its commissioning in Jan 2023 till 20.06.2024. The large number of signaling failures in the automatic section is defeating the very purpose of mobility enhancement and causing safety concerns also,” the report said.
There was also a “heavy shortage” of walkie-talkies at the Katihar Division, the location of the accident, so much so that even on the day of the mishap 18 goods train crew were not issued walkie-talkie sets.
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Kanchanjunga Express collision that killed 10 people in June was ‘avoidable’: Probe report
