Odisha Train accident: Coromandel express took wrong track, says signalling dept

Odisha: The Coromandel Express train involved in the accident in Odisha's Balasore took the wrong track minutes before the tragedy, according to initial reports from the railways signalling control room. The Chennai-bound Coromandel Express took the loop line instead of the main line just ahead of Bahanagar Bazar station on Friday evening, a senior railways official said on condition of anonymity.

What is a loop line that Coromandel Express took?

According to Indian Railways, loop lines are constructed in the station area – in this case, Bahanagar Bazar station – to accommodate more trains to ease out the operations. The loop lines are generally 750 metres in length to accommodate full-length goods train with multiple engines. Indian Railways, however, has been encouraging the construction of loop lines of around 1500 meters, which is double the existing loop line length.

There's still no clarity on whether the incident was a result of human error or a technical glitch.

While the initial reports suggest that the accident may have been the result of human error since the train took the wrong track minutes before the tragedy, a retired railway official of the East Coast Railway zone hinted at technical glitches and signal issues.

"Though the goods train was on the loop line of the railway station as per the signal panel kept in the station manager's office, the last few bogies of it may still be physically present on the main line when Coromondal Express came rushing at 127 km per hour," the former official.