A devastating train accident that claimed the lives of 288 people and injured over 800 in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening has left the country in shock and sorrow. The accident, which is the worst rail disaster in India in this century, involved three trains – two passenger trains travelling in opposite directions and a goods train that was parked on the side.
The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, but initial reports indicate that a signalling error may have caused the Coromandel Express, which was running from Shalimar in West Bengal to Chennai in Tamil Nadu, to switch to the loop line and crash into the goods train from behind. The force of the crash derailed many coaches of the Coromandel Express and threw them to the other track, where they collided with the Howrah Superfast Express, which was coming from Yesvantpur in Karnataka to Howrah in West Bengal.
The accident resulted in a huge pile-up of twisted metal and debris, trapping hundreds of passengers inside the wrecked coaches. Many of them died on the spot or later succumbed to their injuries. Some of them were charred beyond recognition as fire erupted in some of the coaches. The rescue operations, which involved hundreds of personnel from the railways, police, fire brigade and local administration, went on for more than 24 hours amid heavy rain and darkness. The authorities used gas cutters, cranes and bulldozers to clear the wreckage and rescue the survivors and bodies.
The accident has shaken and saddened the nation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his condolences and announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 for those who were seriously injured. He also spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and assured him of all possible assistance from the central government. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who visited the site of the accident on Saturday, said that a high-level committee would be formed to investigate the accident and fix responsibility. He also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those who were grievously injured.
The Odisha government has also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of those who died in the accident and free treatment for all the injured. Chief Minister Patnaik expressed his deep grief over the tragedy and directed his officials to coordinate with the railways and other agencies for relief and rescue work. He also ordered a judicial inquiry into the accident by a retired high court judge.
The accident has raised serious questions about the safety and maintenance of India’s vast railway network, which carries more than 20 million passengers every day. The railways have been facing challenges with ageing infrastructure, outdated technology, overcrowding, underfunding and corruption for decades. According to official data, there were 73 accidents involving passenger trains in India in 2021-22, resulting in 85 deaths and 185 injuries. The last major train accident in India was in 2016, when 150 people were killed when 14 coaches of the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The Odisha train crash has also revealed the lack of coordination and communication among different agencies involved in railway operations. According to some reports, there was confusion and delay in alerting