Lapses at multiple levels in the Signal & Telecommunication (S&T) department led to the Balasore train accident on June 2, which left 291 dead and more than 900 injured, the Commission of Railway Safety said in its report submitted to the Railway Ministry last week.
Multiple sources in the Ministry told The Hindu that the primary responsibility had been pinned on the S&T department and that “human error” led to the triple-train collision in Odisha.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle, A.M. Chowdhary, who conducted the inquiry into the circumstances that led to the accident, said in the report that the rear collision was due to “lapses in the signalling-circuit-alteration” carried out at the north signal goomty (of the Bahanaga Bazaar station). A goomty is a cabin that houses railway equipment.
