The investigation report of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) on the devastating Balasore train accident reveals the reason behind it. The report attributes to the lapses in signaling work and negligence of the station master, causing the death of 293 passengers.
Could the accident have been averted?
Notwithstanding the lapses in signaling work, had the station master informed them of the repeated unusual behavior of the crossover to the Signal staff, they could have traced the false feed extending to the EIlogic for circuit crossover.
Causes of Balasore Train Accident
Non-supply of station-specific approved circuit diagrams resulted in a catastrophe.
The report explained the railway had planned to reuse the pre-wired location box at Balasore station, which was closed some time ago. Wrong wiring diagrams were supplied to the S&T staff at Bahanaga to carry out the work. This was a wrong step that led to the wrong wiring.
