By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the accident happened at Bahanaga in Balasore in Odisha, due to a change in electronic interlocking. The train accident claimed 288 lives so far while over 1,150 people sustained injuries.
“The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it… It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking,” Vaishnaw was quoted by ANI as saying.
The Minister stated that the focus right now is on the restoration and the target is to finish the work by Wednesday morning. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track,” Vaishnaw added.
Reacting to allegations that the mishap took place as the route lacks the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Kavach, the Railway Minister said, “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to change in electronic interlocking”.
