The Salda Railway Division on Thursday withdrew the order prohibiting the issuance of TA 912. The Railway Division stated that the letter was issued by mistake. Therefore, it was canceled. The new order states that the decision to issue TA 912 was made at a meeting of the Chief Safety Officer (PCSO) and department heads the main ones. Also, strict instructions were given that all the people concerned should strictly follow the orders. Any violation of this order will be taken seriously.
TA 912 is a written authorization letter given by the station manager to the train driver. The automatic signaling system allows the driver to cross a red signal if he fails. Controversy over the TA 912 authorization letter arose when it became clear that the driver of the goods train that hit the Kanchenjunga Express from behind There was a letter of authority from the station master to jump nine red signals, as the automatic signal system was malfunctioning.
Let us tell you that Kanjanjunga Express, parked at Phansidewa area of ​​West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, was hit from behind by a goods train on the morning of June 17. 10 people died and 40 were injured in the accident. Among the dead were also the guard of the passenger train and the driver of the goods train. A preliminary investigation into the accident revealed negligence on the part of the goods train staff and the operations department of the Jalpaiguri division.
What’s in the investigation report?
After the accident, the Chairman of the Railway Board, Jaya Verma Sinha, said that the driver of the goods train ignored the signal, due to which the accident occurred. The Railway Safety Commissioner is conducting a detailed investigation into this accident. At the same time, immediately after the accident, the railway formed a team of six senior officers, who accepted responsibility for a preliminary investigation. Now the investigative committee has submitted its report. According to this report, five officials found that in the accident, the driver of the goods train violated the signal and also exceeded the speed limit. An official says the operations department of the new Jalpaiguri railway division was negligent and could not take adequate steps to secure the route between Ranipatra and Chattarhat Junction.
Most members of the investigative committee believe that the driver of the goods train did not follow the rules and crossed the automatic signal in a dangerous manner, and also kept the speed of the train higher than the rules, due to which the collision between the two trains occurred. It is pertinent to note that after the accident, Chief Loco Inspector of New Jalpaiguri Division said that the automatic and semi-automatic signals were not working at 5.50 am on June 17. In such a situation, according to the rules, the entire section (Ranipatra to Chattarhat Junction) should have been converted into a block system and only one train at a time allowed to pass through the section.
Negligence on the part of the operations department
According to the inquiry report, Kanchenjunga Express left Ranipatra station at 8:27 am and was issued T/A 912 and T369 forms due to signal failure. Issuance of T/A 912 means the train can cross all red signals. On the other hand, issuing a T369 form means that the train can cross two signals immediately, but its speed has to be up to 15 kilometers per hour. Investigation revealed that the same authority issued these forms to the goods train and that too at an interval of only 15 minutes at 8:42 am.
The report states that the Kanchenjunga Express was stopped and waiting for a faulty signal when the goods train came from behind and hit it. In this collision, five carriages and 11 bogies of the goods train were damaged. However, the inquiry report does not mention what the speed of the goods train was when she hit Kanchenjunga.
The investigation of the railway safety commissioner focused on this matter
The investigation conducted by the train safety commissioner focuses mainly on the question of why the freight train driver was running faster than the speed limit? It was feared that something might have happened to the driver that caused him to run the goods train at high speed, but the reason for this is still unclear. The co-driver of the goods train was seriously injured in the accident and the reason will be revealed only after his recovery. After the passenger recovers, the train safety officer will record his statement.
