BENGALURU: The uncoupling of two AC coaches of the Mysuru-KSR Bengaluru-Kacheguda Express on April 20 which resulted in the train splitting into two and a nine-hour delay for passengers to reach their destination was caused due to the welding in crucial equipment giving way, it has now been established. Since the coaches belong to the South Central Railway Zone, a detailed inquiry will be conducted by the workshop in that zone which maintains the coaches.
The mishap that occurred at 7.06 pm near Channasandra railway station resulted in the trains getting separated as eight coaches on one side and 16 coaches on the other side. The Kacheguda Express continued its journey post-midnight after new AC coaches were attached to it at Baiyappanahalli yard. General Manager, South Western Railway Zone, Ajay Kumar Singh told The New Indian Express, “The welding in a big steel structure that helps in holding the coaches together, technically referred to as the Head Stock, had broken in train no. 12786. This is a very rare occurrence and has happened only thrice in the entire Indian Railways.”
Asked if those taking care of train maintenance in the Bengaluru division could be held responsible, Singh said, “This is an internal component. Those online duty carrying out physical or manual checks will not be able to detect it. The workshop at SCR needs to analyse how the welding gave way so easily. They will assess if the material used was faulty or if the persons carrying out the welding job were responsible for it.” A welded Headstock is supposed to last for many years, the GM added.
A senior official of the Mechanical Division of the Bengaluru Railway Division, said, “The Head Stock that weighs nearly 500 kg and held B1 and B2 coaches had broken making it a clear case of equipment failure.” The official added that the toilet inside the B1 coach had not ripped off from the train and fallen below as had been understood by passengers. “It was the tanker of the bio-toilet that stores the waste beneath the coach that had collapsed and fallen on the tracks due to the impact of the failure of the welding. There was no internal damage to the coaches or any toilet inside the coach,” he added.