Reasons trains are crashing in India
Over 200 people are now known to have been killed and about 900 injured when trains collided in India’s eastern Odisha state on Friday, leaving the a question — what are the reasons trains are crashing in India?
One passenger train is thought to have derailed before being struck by another on the adjacent track late on Friday.
Indian Railways said the two services involved were the Coromandel Express and the Howrah Superfast Express.
But according to state chief secretary, Pradeep Jena, two passenger trains and a goods train collided in the city of Balasore in Odisha state.
Jena said on Twitter — citing the state’s disaster management agency — that the resulting impact killed at least 207 people and injured 900 people.
Several carriages from the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express were said to have derailed at around 19:00 local time (13:30 GMT). Some of the carriages ended up on the opposite track.
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Another train, the Howrah Superfast Express travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah, then hit the overturned carriages.
Also, a goods train that was stationary at the site was involved in the incident.
Indian train crashes
So why are train crashes in Indian now relatively frequent? India’s national rail network is the fourth-largest in the world. The leading three are the United States, Russia and China.
About 36.83% of the train routes in India are double or multi-tracked. As of April 2023, some 58,812 km (36,544 mi) of all the routes have been electrified with 25 KV AC electric traction.
However, accidents are common despite successive governments investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the infrastructure.
Furthermore, India’s extensive rail network’s infrastructure is aging and lacks good maintenance. These could be part of the reasons for the frequent train crashes in India.
Underlining all these is technology, which has increased trains’ speed. This puts so much safety concerns in the hands of loco-pilots.
Therefore, lack of tech assistance, failed signals and overworked staff can also be reason trains are crashing in India. Although derailment is a major cause.
Records of trains crashes in India
Meanwhile, the death toll from Friday’s crash has already surpassed that of 2016. Considered one of the deadliest, over 140 people were killed in a derailment in Uttar Pradesh state.
Also, in November 2017, no fewer than 39 people died and 50 injured when a train derailed in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Again, in 2020, nearly 12,000 people were killed in more than 13,000 train accidents across the country. Then in 2021, about 16,431 people were killed in 18,000 railway accidents across the country.
Earlier, on June 6, 1981, Near Saharsa, Bihar, a passenger train derailed and sank in the Bagmati River. Over 800 people were said to have died in total.
On August 20, 1995, the Purushottam Express, which runs Delhi-Kanpur route, collided with the stationary Kalindi Express near Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, killing 360 passengers from both trains.
Another train crash in India was on August 2, 1999. Awadh-Assam Express and the Brahmaputra Mail collided in Awadh, Katihar Division of the North Frontier Railway, killing 268 people and injuring over 359 others.
According to investigation, signal had failed, so the Brahmaputra Mail got the green light to continue on the same track. As a result, the Awadh Assam Express was hit from the front around 1:30 a.m.
By the power of the collision sent the engine of the Awadh Assam into the air, while passengers from both trains were hurled into nearby homes and fields.
So can these reasons why trains are crashing in India be of concern to use here? Can same be said of our cases of accidents involving trains?