A railway team of over six officials, which went to the scene of the accident where the goods train collided with Kanchanjunga Express does not believe that there was a malfunction in all of the automatic and semi-automatic signals between Rangapani and Chaterhaat railway stations.
In a ‘Joint Observation Report’ submitted before the authorities concerned on 18 June, one Om Prakash Sharma in his note stated, “I do not agree as there was a failure of all automatic and semi-automatic signals between Rangapani and Chaterhaat, including down starter and advance starter of Rangapani railway station since 5.50 am,” on 17 June.
Based on the observation team, the derailment was caused by a rare occurrence of the goods train colliding with the passenger train from behind. This type of derailment can happen when proper protocol is not followed, such as ignoring automatic signals set to danger and when the goods train is moving at a high speed.
“All of the brake cylinders were discovered in a state where the brakes were applied,” the report says.
The line of obstruction caused the derailing of all the wheels on both trolleys, the report claimed.
The accident claimed 10 lives, injuring several others.
Prior to the commencement of an inquiry by the chief commissioner of railway safety from the ministry of civil aviation, Janak Kumar Garg, the group has identified 15 railway workers, who were on duty, including two, who tragically passed away as a result of the train accident.
The report states that Anil Kumar was the loco pilot of the goods train, while Monu Kumar was the assistant loco pilot and Bhavesh Kumar Sharma was the train manager (guard).
Anil Kumar passed away, while Manu Kumar is currently receiving medical treatment at a private hospital with three layers of security to ensure a thorough investigation.
Meanwhile, the loco pilot for the Down Kanchanjunga Express was Raju Balmiki, accompanied by assistant loco driver Narendra Kumar Singh and train manager Ashish Dey. Unfortunately, Dey passed away from his critical injuries.
In addition to six individuals, nine additional persons were present for duty, including Niraj Tiwari, who is the station master of Rangapani.
There were four individuals known as ‘Point Men’: Sushanta Das, Subhash Chandra Siya, Ram Prakash Oran, and Kunal Kumar.
Four individuals who go by the name “gate man” have been identified as Mithilesh Kumar Mitthee, Bapan Ganguly, S Chakraborty, and B Mazumdar.
According to the station master at Rangapani, the ‘Joint Observation Report’ documents the malfunctioning of all automated Dn Signals (AS-2, AS-654, AS-650, AS-648, AS-644, AS-642, AS-640, and AS-638).
According to the report, the Kanchanjunga Express departed from Rangapani railway station at 8.42 am and the accident occurred at 8.55 am.
At 9.03 am, a siren was sounded at New Jalpaiguri railway station and the relief train left at 9.25 am.
During the joint inspection, it was discovered that two individuals were trapped in separate trains. A rescue effort commenced at approximately 11 am and was successfully concluded by 12.30 pm. The bodies were extracted using both a cold cutter and gas cutter.
In total, 16 coaches were harmed, with five of them belonging to the passenger train.