Raising critical questions over the train accident at Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy urged the Centre to conduct a safety audit on all tracks across the country to prevent the recurrence of such devastating accidents.
Three coaches of the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger train derailed after it was rammed by the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train after it overshot the signal near Kantakpalli junction in Kothavalasa. The locomotive and two coaches of Rayagada passenger also derailed as an impact of the collision.
Railway authorities said human error could have led to the accident leaving 13 dead and 38 others injured four of them critical.
The chief minister visited the injured passengers at the hospital on Monday. He had to conduct an aerial survey of the accident site at Kantakapalli as railway officials told him his visit to the spot would hamper the ongoing track restoration.
Later, he posed certain questions about the “horrifying” accident.
In a post on X, he asked, “Why did the braking system and alert system not function? Why did the signalling fail? How did the communication system fail?”
The chief minister, who seldom speaks to the media, said, “I sincerely request the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Honourable Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to constitute a high-level audit commit to thoroughly examine all these aspects, not just on this line but on all lines across the country to ensure such devastating accidents do not recur in the future.”
He added that his government would continue to ensure that the best possible care is taken of those injured in the incident. The state government has already announced that the families of the deceased hailing from AP would get ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh and the injured Rs 2 lakh while those from other states will be given Rs 2 lakh for the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Immediately after the accident, the chief minister spoke to the Union railway minister and briefed him about the relief measures taken by his government.