BENGALURU: The mishap involving the MGR Chennai Central-KSR Bengaluru Double Decker Express was completely avoidable, say those familiar with the incident. A communication gap between the departments which carried out work on the tracks and controlled train operations allegedly caused the damage.
A reliable source said that work related to the maintenance of Points (the equipment on railway tracks operated to control the direction of trains) was being carried out by the signalling and telecommunications, as well as engineering departments.
“They began work on Sunday afternoon and it was to have been completed by the end of the day. When such work is on, they alert the punctuality section of the Operations department and impose speed restrictions. Personnel from Operations alerts the loco pilot on the speed to be maintained, which was done on Sunday,” he explained.
However, it appears that work spilled over into Monday. “Those involved did not alert the Operations personnel, so no cautionary speed was imposed. The Double Decker is among the few trains which run at high speed, hence it suffered a derailment when it crossed the tracks,” he added. Trains running prior to it did not face any issues.
One version said the Double Decker ran at 110 kmph, while another version said its speed was only around 70 kmph, as it had departed from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh just some time ago. None of the top railway officials gave any inputs on the possible reasons for the accident.
Passengers travel on coach floor
Among the passengers on board the derailed MGR Chennai Central-KSR Bengaluru Double Decker Express train was N Vignesh, a freelance photographer, in coach C3. He told The New Indian Express, “I felt minor turbulence and my compartment was shaking violently before the train came to a halt around 11.30 am. Passengers were walking into our compartment with luggage in hand. A family which had travelled in the derailed coach said they heard a huge noise,” he said. He added that Railway officials handled the situation well.
Sneha Radhakrishnan, a finance professional travelling from Chennai to KR Puram in coach C2 told The New Indian Express, “I experienced a big jolt. This was followed by braking twice. The train stopped and many passengers came into our compartment. Some of them had to squeeze in wherever there was space and many squatted on the floor when the train left an hour later towards Bangarpet. A few elderly citizens appeared a bit panicky and shaken. One of them said the window glass was damaged.”