Reason for Kanchenjunga train accident- Loco pilot ignored the signal, how do drivers make mistakes

Railway accidents due to human error or negligence

Railway employees who operate, maintain and manage trains and tracks are often fatigued, neglected, resentful and corrupt, increasing the risk of ignoring safety rules and procedures. This becomes a major cause of human error or negligence.

Major railway accident in West Bengal, goods train bogies climbed on Kanchenjunga Express train, 15 dead so far

Signal failure due to human error or negligence

Human error or negligence often involves giving wrong signals, miscommunication, speeding or ignoring faults. Sometimes railway employees do not get adequate training or communication skills. This affects their performance and coordination.

Such accidents happen due to signal failure

Failure of the signalling system that controls the speed and direction of trains also causes accidents. The reasons behind this are technical fault, power shortage or human error. Giving a wrong signal puts the train on the wrong track, which increases the possibility of it colliding with another train. This was the main reason for the train accident in Odisha last year.
Routes of many trains were changed due to the rail accident in West Bengal, see the list here

Unmanned crossings (UMLC) are also a big reason

Many times unmanned crossings also cause rail accidents. Although this old system has been removed in most places in the country, it is still in force in some places. In 2018-19, 16 percent of the railway accidents that occurred across the country were caused by these unmanned crossings.

Structural flaws also become the reason

Structural flaws in railways are also often the cause of train accidents. These include problems like bad tracks, dilapidated bridges or broken electric wires. Actually, the reason behind this is lack of timely repairs, being too old, violent protests or natural disasters.

Why are these flaws not being removed?

In fact, most of the railway infrastructure was built in the 19th and 20th centuries. If these are not upgraded according to modern times and new standards, such accidents can happen. Railways also have to deal with lack of funds at many places. Corruption is also a big issue that railways have to deal with.

Kanchenjunga Express accident: Deafening screams, people covered in blood, read eyewitness accounts of Bengal train accident

Excessive load on several routes

Many routes of the railways are so busy that even at 100% operational capacity, work is affected. In fact, overloading and workload are very high on these busy routes.

What steps have the Railways taken so far?

Railways has created the National Rail Safety Fund. It was started in 2017-18 with a fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. Under this, works like track repair, signalling projects, bridge rehabilitation etc. are done.

What is the armor that is being discussed?

This is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (AWACH), the installation of which has been in the news for many years. Every time after a train accident, there is a discussion on this, but AWACH has not been installed for the last 20-22 years.

GPS based fog pass device

Train accidents often occur in fog and mist. To prevent this, a GPS based fog pass device has been made. This device gives information about signals and level crossing gates in advance. It also alerts the loco pilot with a loud sound.

Interlocking system is also important

The interlocking system controls all the points and signals. It controls all the points and signals from a central location through electrical or electronic devices.