Odisha Train Accident

Q. Why Coromandel Express crashed in Odisha?

·      The tragic death of nearly 300 passengers in a train accident has drawn attention to the safety preparedness of the Indian Railways.

·   Minister for Railways has said that interference with the “configuration” of the track led the Coromandel Express to smash into the stationary goods train from behind at Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha’s Balasore.

·      The electric ‘point machine’ is a vital device in the railway signalling system for quick operation and “locking” of point switches. It plays a key role in the safe running of trains. Failure of these machines will severely affect train movement, and any deficiencies that are created or left unaddressed at the time of installation or maintenance of the system can result in unsafe conditions.

Q. What is meant by ‘interlocking’ in railways?

·     Interlocking in railway signalling systems is a crucial safety mechanism that ensures train movements continue without any conflicts, thus preventing accidents.

·     There are three main components of the interlocking system: point, track occupancy sensing devices, and signal. The interlocking system coordinates the functions of these three components to control train movements.

·     The digital interface of this system is a computer screen (or multiple screens) that shows the full view of the station layout, the real-time movement of trains, the signals, and the position of the points. This computer interface is called a data logger.

Q. What is the function of each of these three main components?

·     Signals (which are lights of green, red, and yellow colour) are installed along the tracks to indicate the status of the track ahead.

·       Track circuits are electrical circuits (also known as track-occupancy sensing devices) that detect the presence of trains.

·      Points allow trains to change tracks. The Coromandel was supposed to go through Bahanaga Bazar on the ‘Up’ main line, but the point just before the station switched the express on to the loop line that was occupied by the stationary goods train.

Q. How do the points work?

·      The points, also called switch rails, are movable rails that are typically placed at the point of divergence of two tracks going to different directions. Once the direction of a train is determined, the point gets locked at a particular position, and cannot be budged until the train has passed. The driver, or loco pilot, has no say in this matter.

Q. How does the system sense whether a track is occupied?

·      There are various kinds of track-occupancy sensing devices. Generally, sensors are installed on the tracks that detect the passage of wheels on the rails. These are called axle counters. They count how many sets of wheels or axles have passed over them in order to determine whether the entire train has passed through.

Q. How is this whole system configured?

·      A ‘sound logic’ of what is safe train operation is fed into the interlocking system, which is controlled remotely from the station.

·   Earlier, when technology was more basic, this job would be done manually, wherein a pointsman would physically operate the point to change its direction for an incoming train, and to lock it. Someone would then physically show a green flag or signal to the train after checking that the track was clear of obstacles. The driver would see the flag/ signal and proceed.

·     Today, out of the 7,000-odd stations in the Indian Railways network, only around 100 small stations still have manual levers to control these points. The rest operate electronically, even though the basic principles of the logic are taken from the old and time-tested standard operating procedure for safety.

Q. How safe is this system?

·    If any of the three components (signals, points, and track occupancy sensors) does not correspond to the overall ‘safe’ logic fed into the computer, the system will work to stop the oncoming train. This means if the point is not locked, or not set to the desired direction, and/ or if the sensing device detects that the track is not clear, the signal will automatically turn red — indicating to the oncoming train that something is wrong and that it should stop.

·       This is called a “fail safe” system — one that errs on the side of safety.

Q.Who operates and monitors the interlocking signalling system?

·   The interlocking system is usually operated and monitored by trained personnel from the signalling and telecommunications department in Railways, often known as ‘signallers’ or signal operators. They are responsible for setting the signals, monitoring track circuits, and ensuring the safe movement of trains.

Q. Are interlocking signalling systems used worldwide?

·   Yes, interlocking systems are used in railway networks worldwide. Countries may have variations in their signalling practices and technologies, but the underlying principle of preventing conflicting train movements remains the same.

Q. How are these systems secured against interference?

·     The relay room — which is the place from where the entire interlocking/ signalling apparatus can be controlled or manipulated — is locked with double locks. One key is with the station master; the other is in the custody of the signalling staff.

·     To open the relay room for any maintenance the station master’s approval is required, and every entry and exit is logged in a register.

·     As technology improved over the years, the Indian Railways put in place a system in which the opening and closing of the relay rooms were connected electronically to the data loggers. Every such event is not only registered on the servers, but it also triggers an SMS that goes to the officials concerned.

·      Since relay rooms (or huts or cabins) are places from where signals can be manipulated, their access protocol is strictly codified and guarded.

Railways orders week-long countrywide safety drive on signalling systems:

·     The Railways had ordered a week-long countrywide safety drive on signalling systems with special emphasis on the existing “double locking” arrangement of its signalling apparatus at stations.

·    This is practised to ensure checks and balances in handling the crucial signalling apparatus at every critical point, from the point of view of safety and security.

Observations from this incident:

1. Signalling neglected?

·       The current practice of a disconnection memo to the station master from the signal maintainer followed by a connection memo is not strictly followed.

·      As it now appears in the case of this accident, a signal maintainer or technician of the signalling department at the Bahanaga Bazar station did open one of the location boxes at the station to “loop” the circuit and achieve a “clear path” (or a green signal) for the Coromandel Express

·     The Indian Railways may have missed a key step of giving signalling and telecommunications network upgrade and human resources development upfront a priority while infusing large capital into the gigantic network to improve rail infrastructure and introduce modern and faster trains.

2.Requirement of Ground staff

·        A shake up in the recruitment process and at the lower level staff is imperative.

·    Safety and punctuality of trains depend on the ground staff – trackmen, maintenance staff of telecom and signalling, loco-pilots, guards, station masters and the likes.

3. Need for highly skilled staff

·      With technology upgrade and demand for more as well as faster trains, Railways cannot afford to have semi-skilled staff at these levels anymore. We need to have highly skilled and motivated personnel with better pay and training.

·     These personnel should become part of the working group protocols rather than be looked down, while the signalling and telecommunications wing should be given its due in decision making.

1.     Vacancies

·    Most of the posts at this level are not filled on time, either due to the recruitment process itself or because posts are being done away with due to shift to the automatic-digital system.

2.   Outsourcing

·     The issue of outsourcing certain critical works had also received flak as it is allotted to the lowest bidder resulting in tardy maintenance.

3.     Encroachment:

·      The idea of enhancing speeds is to run more trains and see to it that the trains are running on time (set timings are good). Yet, we cannot simply increase speeds without ensuring tracks are free of encroachers by fencing or setting up walls in populated areas.

4.     Loop lines :

·      The South Central Railway (SCR) zone mostly has a single line of about 3,663 km, double line of 2,645 km and a triple line of 165 km, which should explain the congestion and reasons why loop lines near stations play a vital role. These sectional points help the Railway authorities to move the slow moving passenger and freight trains into loop lines to enable faster trains to speed through.

5.     Causes of Derailment:

·       The major causes of derailments are rail fractures, weld failures, track defects and rolling stock defects among others.

Way Forward:

·    In the 2023-24 Union Budget, the Railways received a record allocation of ₹2.40 lakh crore. However, when capital expenditure on crucial activities related to safety such as track renewal and signalling and telecom are considered, their shares dwindled or stagnated over the last few years. Allocation for track renewal dipped to 7.2% and expenditure proposed for signalling remained at 1.7% in FY24 when considered as a share of budgetary support for capital expenditure

·    Retired as well as serving officers are suggesting a modern signalling system equivalent to European Train Control System (ECTS), at least on the new lines under construction, to begin with, by spending a few crores extra.

·       With this, we can have a total tracking of the system, remove the human element, and have a fail-safe method, along with running more trains at better frequency and timings