At least 275 people have been killed in the train derailment, Orissa Chief Secretary Jena said Monday, The Times of India reported. More than 1,000 people were injured in the horrific accident and more than 100 patients are still in intensive care, Indian Health Minister Mandavia said Thursday.
The accident happened at about 7:20 p.m. local time on Friday in Balasol, about 200 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa state. A total of three trains collided in the accident. ABC News reported on Thursday that an initial investigation showed the Kolkata to Chennai-bound Coromandel Express received a signal to enter the main line, but the signal was later cancelled and the train strayed into an adjacent loop line and collided with a freight train carrying iron ore. The collision caused the carriages of the Coromandel Express to flip onto another track, causing the opposite express from Bangalore to Howrah to derail and causing the collision of three trains, two of which were carrying a total of 2,296 people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate a "quasi-high-speed" train on the same day, marking another step in modernizing India's antiquated railways, AP reported Wednesday. The train, which connects the western city of Mumbai with the southern state of Goa, is the 19th Van der Bala Express train in India, with a maximum test speed of 180 km per hour and a maximum operational speed of 160 km per hour, making it known as a "quasi-high-speed railway".
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper said Wednesday that Modi's nine-year-old government has invested tens of billions of dollars in railways, renovating or replacing old tracks laid by the British in the 19th century, bringing in new trains and removing thousands of unattended railway crossings. Modern trains in India are designed to reduce the risk of crashes and derailments. Vaishnau had said that the trains would be used in conjunction with the nationwide automatic train collision protection system, a technology that would make travel safer, but that the system had not yet been installed on the track where the accident occurred on Tuesday
In fact, India was the first country in Asia to own trains and railways. It started to own trains in 1853, and until the 1990s, its railway network was the longest in Asia. At present, it is the fourth largest railway network in the world after the US and Russia. The train has played a special and important role in the economic and social development of India. Some historians even praise the Indian train as the one who opened up the wisdom of the people and promoted the unification of India. Mahatma Gandhi used to use the train to travel north and south, into the countryside, to preach the idea of Indian independence.
According to the Global Times, there are seven classes of ordinary trains in India: air-conditioned first class, second class, third class, air-conditioned bench class, non-air-conditioned first class, bench class and sleeping class. There are also special express trains and the recently launched "quasi-high speed" trains. Most trains in India run at around 60 km/h, express trains can run at 90 km/h and "quasi bullet trains" can run at 160 km/h. The overall fares on Indian railways are not high. For the 240km journey from New Delhi to Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the price is about 50 RMB for a regular coach and 100 RMB for a first-class air-conditioned coach. India's "quasi-high-speed trains" have advanced facilities, such as reading lights, scroll curtains, push-button toilets and AC power for laptops and mobile phones. The service on board is meticulous, and except for the lack of seatbelts, it is basically the same as flying. There is also a luxury sightseeing train with services and experiences comparable to those of a five-star hotel. But other regular trains are often decrepit, with no air conditioning, only fans, and crowded with passengers.
Antiquated infrastructure is often blamed for transport delays and a high number of train accidents in India, CNN said. Upgrading India's transport infrastructure is a key priority in Modi's push to create a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Modi's ambitious "National Rail Plan" announced in 2021 envisages all major cities in north, west and south India being connected by high-speed rail.
India's worst railway accident occurred in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state and plunged into a river below, killing 800 to 1,000 people, Agence France-Presse said Wednesday. In 1995, 358 people were killed when two express trains collided at Firozabad, near Agra. The accident in Orissa on Tuesday could be the third worst railway accident in India's history.
Derailment is the most common railway accident in India, but the number has been declining in recent years, official data showed, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported Thursday. Track defects, maintenance problems, outdated signalling equipment and human error were the main causes of derailments, while 26 percent of the incidents were due to lack of funds or failure to use available funds for track repairs, according to the report by the Comptroller General's Office.
Despite the focus on flashy modernisation projects, safety remains the biggest issue facing Indian railways, the Guardian reported on Thursday. As more modern trains have entered service, the number and quality of railway staff has not reached the same level, which has led to more human error.
