Even as preliminary investigations by forensic experts and the railway police suggest that the fire accident aboard the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express on Monday was caused by the electric short circuit, the circumstances which led to the accident and heavy loss of life continues to be wrapped in the mystery.
A fracture in the rail line was responsible for the Howrah-Kalka Mail accident that claimed 70 lives last month, the preliminary report submitted to Railway Ministry, claimed.
The Railways ordered an inquiry, on Friday, into the train derailment near Jaipur that left six persons dead. Commissioner of Railway Safety, Western Circle, Prashant Kumar is inquiring into the mishap, railway sources said.
Four gangmen were killed on Friday when they were run over by a local train between suburban Kurla and Vidyavihar stations.
"Nothing can be ruled out. It may be possible that our equipment might have been tampered with. It will be known only after inquiry)," Eastern Railways General Manager V N Tripathy told PTI.
A high-level probe has been ordered into the derailment of the Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Superfast Express train near Jajpur Road railway station, railway officials said.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday announced in Lok Sabha that a statutory inquiry, to be conducted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, had been ordered in the Coromandel Express mishap. Making a suo motu statement in the Lower House soon after the interim budget was presented, Prasad said the cause of the accident is being investigated. He also announced relief to the victims of the mishap.
The Ministry of Railways on Friday ordered an inquiry to ascertain the cause of fire in the Gouthami Express train in Andhra Pradesh. The commissioner of Railway Safety will hold the inquiry and submit the report at the earliest. Forensic experts are also examining the cause of the fire, said Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
15 people injured; those with minor injuries were provided an immediate compensation of Rs 5,000, and one with serious injuries was given Rs 25,000.
Three railway employees - the driver, assistant driver of a light engine and the assistant stationmaster of Gamariah station - have been suspended in connection with the accident.
Two officials were suspended on April 21, the day of the accident, while four others were suspended on Friday, Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shailendra Kumar said.
"The railway minister has expressed deep grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for those who died in this unfortunate incident and Rs 1 lakh to those seriously injured," Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar said.
Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety G P Garg, in the preliminary inquiry report, has held that it was caused due to the blunder by the station masters of Bhangala and Mirthala.
The chief commissioner of railway safety has ratified the cause and the same has also been accepted by the Railway Board, he said
This was revealed in the preliminary report of a statutory inquiry.
As the national transporter is planning to come out with semi-high speed routes where trains can clock an average speed of 160-200 kmph, dedicated testing becomes essential.
This was the provisional finding of Commissioner of Railway Safety R P Agarwal, who conducted an inquiry into the accident.
The first ever air-conditioned suburban local for Mumbai, which was flagged off from Integral Coach Factory in Chennai on March 31, has finally arrived in the metropolis, and its trial run would take place within a week, said a senior Central Railway official on Tuesday.
The mishap took place at Martur village station, about 20 kilometres from Kalburgi.
The migrant workers were walking along the rail tracks apparently to escape the attention of police. A video clip from the scene of the tragedy shows the bodies of migrant workers lying on the tracks and nearby with their meagre personal belongings scattered around.
"Call it a craze, fever or national interest but HSR is our window to the outside world."
Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the train mishap in Bihar's Khagaria district and ordered an inquiry into it.
A railway official said the Talgo run was only a trial and, in case of launch of commercial services, clearance from CRS would be taken
9 passengers were killed and 16 seriously injured when 9 bogies derailed.
Investigators were on Sunday looking into what caused one of the deadliest train accidents in recent times as rescue operations continued
There would be a marginal 3% increase in freight rates.
'This is not just Make in India; this is much more than that. Right from design to delivery, everything was done in India.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances