| Odisha train collision | |
|---|---|
 Wreckage of the Coromandel Express | |
 Location of collision | |
  Crash location on a map of India | |
| Details | |
| Date | 2 June 2023 (2023-06-02) around 19:00IST (13:30UTC)[1] |
| Location | NearBahanaga Bazar railway station,Balasore,Odisha |
| Coordinates | 21°20′17″N86°45′52″E / 21.33806°N 86.76444°E /21.33806; 86.76444 |
| Country | India |
| Line | Howrah–Chennai main line |
| Operator | South Eastern Railway zone |
| Owner | Indian Railways |
| Incident type | Collision,Derailment |
| Cause | Electronicinterlocking defect due tosignalling error[2][3] |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 3 trains
|
| Vehicles | Locomotive-WAP-7 |
| Deaths | 296[4] |
| Injured | 1,200+ |
On 2 June 2023, threetrains collided inBalasore district in theeast Indian state ofOdisha. The crash occurred around 19:00IST whenCoromandel Express, a passenger train, collided with a stationarygoods train nearBahanaga Bazar railway station on theHowrah–Chennai main line. Due to the high speed of the passenger train and the heavy tonnage of the goods train, the impact resulted in 21 coaches of the Coromandel Expressderailing, three of which collided with the oncomingSMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Superfast Express on the adjacent track.
The crash killed 296 people and injured more than 1,200. It was one of thedeadliest railway crashesin India.National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) andOdisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were involved in the search and recovery efforts, assisted by other government agencies and the general public. The injured were treated at local hospitals in the region. In the aftermath, operations of more than 150 trains were impacted, with the cancellation of at least 48 trains. The rail services resumed on the line on 5 June after restoration work.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the Coromandel Express entered apassing loop line instead of the main line at full speed and crashed into the stationary goods train. In the aftermath,Railway Minister stated that a change inelectronic interlocking due to an error in electronic signalling, caused the crash. He also said that sabotage was suspected and therailway board had recommended aCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led probe. On 7 July 2023, the CBI arrested three railway officials believed to be responsible for the crash.
Despite the statement of the railway authorities that the crash was not a reflection of the safety issues in the system, various questions were raised by journalists, politicians and retired railway employees. The railway lines were not equipped with theKavach train protection system. It was made aware that a similar signalling error had been reported earlier in February 2023 and a December 2022 report by theComptroller and Auditor General of India had warned that the safety department of the railways lacked adequate staffing and funding, suffered from misuse of funds and that these could impact the quality of maintenance.
On 2 June 2023, theCoromandel Express (Train no:12841) was travelling fromShalimar inHowrah,West Bengal, toChennai Central inChennai,Tamil Nadu on theup line of theHowrah-Chennai main line nearBahanaga Bazar railway station. At the same time, theSMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Express (Train no:12864) was travelling in the opposite direction fromSir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal inBengaluru,Karnataka, toHowrah on the adjacent down line. Neither of the trains were scheduled to stop at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station and both received a green signal to proceed along the main line. The trains were traveling fast, close to the maximum permitted speed of 128 km/h (80 mph).[5][6][7]
At about 19:00IST, the Coromandel Express which was intended to pass straight on the up line was instead wrongly switched to the parallel uploop line, where it collided with a stationarygoods train laden withiron ore.[8] Because of the high speed of the passenger train and the weight of the goods train, 21 coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed.[7][9] The goods train did not derail.[5] Three of the derailed coaches from the Coromandel Express careened into the adjacent track and whip-lashed the tail end of the SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Express, which was crossing on the down line at the same time. Two unreserved coaches and thebrake van of the SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Express derailed.[5][7][10]
Indian Railways published the reservation charts for both the passenger trains on its website.[‡ 1][‡ 2] The railways and the governments ofOdisha,West Bengal andTamil Nadu issued helpline numbers.[11][12] According to theChief Secretary of Odisha, threeNational Disaster Response Force (NDRF) units, fourOdisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units, more than 15 fire rescue teams, 100 doctors, 200 police personnel and 200 ambulances were mobilised for the rescue operations.[13][14] Locals assisted in the relief effort, helping the stranded passengers and transporting the injured passengers to the hospital.[15]
The Government of West Bengal sent a team consisting of 40 doctors, nurses and 30 ambulances to assist in the rescue operations.[16] The Government of Tamil Nadu sent a high level delegation comprising two state ministers and threeIAS officers to assist the passengers and arranged a treatment facility with 70 beds at Chennai'sRajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.[17]Search dogs were used to find survivors.[18][19] The search and recovery operations continued till the afternoon of 3 June.[20] Locals from neighbouring areas helped indonating blood to treat the injured.[21]
A total of 296 people died in the crash.[4] Bodies of deceased passengers were taken to a local high school, chosen due to its open spaces and its location close to the crash site. Identification of the bodies was difficult due to burns and other trauma, which led officials to use the belongings to try and identify the passengers.[22] Most of the casualties were from the first three cars of the Coromandel Express, which included twogeneral category coaches.[23] These unreserved coaches were often the most crowded as it allowed anyone with the cheapest category ticket to board without a specific seat reserved for them and were frequently used bymigrant workers.[24] As the railways had only the names of passengers with reserved seats, this made identification more difficult.[23] There were allegations of bodies being handed over to the wrong families due to difficulties in identification andDNA tests were carried out to try and identify the unclaimed bodies.[25]
Over 1,200 people were injured in the crash.[4] On 3 June, Odisha government officials indicated that 1,175 people were admitted to various hospitals as a result of the crash out of which 793 had minor injuries and were released after treatment, and 382 were undergoing further treatment.[20] Local hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of injured people and encountered difficulties in providing patients with adequate care.[21]South Western Railway said that 994 reserved and 300 unreserved passengers were traveling on the Howrah Express that had departed from Bengaluru and that ascertaining the identification of passengers on the unreserved coaches would take time.[26] Despite the severe impact, thelocomotive pilot of the Coromandel Express and his assistant survived the crash with injuries.[27]
Indian Railways announced a compensation of₹1 million (US$12,000) to the families of the deceased,₹200,000 (US$2,400) to the severely injured, and₹50,000 (US$590) to those with minor injuries. Further,ex gratia compensation of₹200,000 (US$2,400) from thePrime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was announced to the families of the deceased and₹50,000 (US$590) to the injured.[28][29]West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee announced a compensation of₹500,000 (US$5,900) to the families of the passengers from West Bengal who had been killed,₹100,000 (US$1,200) to those who had been critically injured, and₹50,000 (US$590) to those with minor injuries.[30] The Government of Tamil Nadu announced a compensation of₹500,000 (US$5,900) to the kin of those who had died in the crash.[31]
The remainder of the SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Express not affected by the crash, which included the engine and 20 coaches, left with its passengers and continued toBalasore, where a further damaged coach was detached. The remaining 19 coaches of the train and a special train arranged to accommodate the remaining passengers, arrived at Howrah on 3 June with 643 passengers.[26] Arrangements were made to check the health of the passengers and buses were arranged to take the passengers home.[32] One of the buses carrying passengers crashed into another vehicle in West Bengal'sMedinipur with some passengers suffering minor injuries.[33] Another train left fromBhadrak for Chennai on the same day with 195 stranded passengers from the Coromandel Express.[34]
In the aftermath, operations of more than 150 trains were impacted.[20] At least 48 trains on the affected route were cancelled, 39 trains were diverted, and 10 were short-terminated on the day of the crash.[35] The inaugural run of theMumbai CSMT–Madgaon Vande Bharat Express, which had been scheduled for 3 June, was cancelled.[36] TheMinistry of Civil Aviation directed airlines to ensure that airfares did not surge in response to increased travel demand due to cancellation of trains.[37] Bus fares in the region, however, showed a steep rise due to increased demand for seats.[38] On 4 June,South Eastern Railway announced that efforts had commenced restoring the tracks at the crash site.[14] The rail services resumed on 5 June after more than 51 hours of restoration work.[39]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Aerial visuals of the accident site on 3 June viaANI onTwitter | |
| Animated explanation of the accident byNDTV |
A preliminary investigation conducted by officials of theKharagpur railway division determined that the following sequence of events occurred:[40][41]
On 4 June,Railway MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw stated that a change inelectronic interlocking due to error in electronic signaling, caused the crash.[2][3] The chairman of theIndian Railway Board said that the electronic interlocking system was largely fail-safe but this rare case of failure might have been caused by a damaged wire or short circuit.[42][43] On 6 June, the railway minister said that theCommission of Railway Safety (CRS) has investigated the matter and the railway board had recommended aCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led probe.[44] He also suggested that someone might have changed thepoint rails as an act of sabotage, which was described as highly unlikely by a signal inspector due to time constraints.[45] A former railway board member questioned the claim of having identified the perpetrator even before the full investigation into the cause of the crash, affirmed that the CRS was better equipped to handle the investigation than CBI and that only a CRS enquiry could uncover systemic failures as the CBI probe would only identify the culprits.[45]
On 7 July 2023, the CBI detailed the progress in the case and arrested three railway officials believed to be responsible for the accident.[46] The CBI statement identified them as onetechnician and twosignal engineers employed with Indian Railways, who were charged withculpable homicide anddestruction of evidence in the case.[47]
The railway authorities stated that the lines were not equipped with theKavach train protection system.[48] A December 2022 report by theComptroller and Auditor General of India warned that the safety department of the railways lacked adequate staffing which could impact the quality of maintenance.[49] The report also stated that the funds allocated towards railway safety were short of the target every year for the last four years and were often misused to cater to other departments such as engineering andHuman Resources. However, the Indian Railways claimed that the crash was not a reflection of the safety issues in the system.[50][51] In February 2023, the principal operating manager of theSouth Western Railway zone had reported a similar signalling error with theKarnataka Sampark Kranti Express having narrowly escaped a collision and had warned that this could lead to crashes if the issue was not resolved.[52]
Narendra Modi, theprime minister of India, expressed his distress over the incident and extended his thoughts to the grieving families.[53] UnionHome MinisterAmit Shah described the incident as "profoundly distressing."[14]Odisha Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed their concerns over the disaster.[54][55] Patnaik andTamil Nadu Chief MinisterM. K. Stalin announced a day of mourning in their respective states.[31] Leaders from other countries expressed their condolences for the loss of life and extended support to India.[56][57]
Mallikarjun Kharge, president of theAll India Congress Committee and former railway minister, referred to a letter from February which had warned of a similar failure and questioned the Ministry of Railways about their oversight of that crucial warning. He also criticised the government for not implementing the anti-collision system and stated that both Prime Minister Modi and Railway Minister Vaishnaw seemed reluctant to acknowledge the existence of problems.[58][59] Many opposition parties, including theIndian National Congress,Trinamool Congress,Communist Party of India (Marxist), andCommunist Party of India demanded the resignation of the railway minister.[60]
In the aftermath of the train crash, messages were circulatedblaming Muslims for the crash on different social media platforms andWhatsApp groups.Odisha Police termed these events as "highly unfortunate" and warned of criminal action against perpetrators of false information.[61][62] Various accounts known for spreadingHindutva andBJP propaganda, posted messages that highlighted the past achievements of the government and demanded an investigation into the crash, deeming it as a terror incident.[61] Political columnistApoorvanand stated that the crash was used as an opportunity todemoniseMuslims.[63]
In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
Media related to2023 Odisha train collision at Wikimedia Commons
