Late in the evening, a CBI team reached the crash site to begin the investigation which, among other things, is expected to reveal whether the derailment of the Coromandel Express was due to negligence or sabotage.
Sources told TOI that the initial probe by the railways found some sort of “manual tinkering” was done with the “logic” of the interlocking system in the cabin at Bahanaga Bazar station, which oversees signalling on the stretch. The CBI will help ascertain the purpose of such tinkering with this “foolproof system”, they said.
02:26
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CBI investigation will identify guilty, their motive: Officials
Railway officials, who spoke on condtion of anonymity on the triple train crash in Balasore, said on Monday their preliminary probe had thrown up clear evidence of tampering of the electronic interlocking system and the probe by a professional agency like CBI would help identify who exactly were responsible, and their motive.
A top Rail Bhawan official reiterated railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s comment on Sunday that the interlocking system is a very safe way of signalling. It is “fail safe” which means that if the system fails, all signals would go red, bringing all trains to a halt.
“So, unless there is deliberate interference in the system, it is not possible that a route that is set for the main line for a train is switched to the loop line. That particular angle and all other angles need to be probed,” the official said. Sources also stressed that the electronic interlocking system used by Railways has got Seal 4 certification, which is the best and given for 100% safety.
02:49
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Asked what led the Railway Board to recommend CBI probe into the matter, a railway official said, “It is a very important probe. A lot of information has come during the course of our probe and the information available required a professional probe. That’s why a CBI investigation was recommended.”
02:22
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The official didn’t respond to a question whether the relay room where the signalling system is kept was open in this case. Several railway experts have also said once a train route is set and locked, it can’t be changed until the train completes its journey on the locked route
