Bhubaneshwar: Restoration of the tracks where the worst train crash that India has witnessed in decades has been completed, 51 hours after the tragedy unfolded. “Everyone has done a great job. I feel great sadness for the affected families but we will get to the root cause of the incident and whoever is responsible will be severely punished”, said the railway minister while praying on the side-lines.
“Up-line train movement also started”, tweeted Ashwini Vaishnaw with a video of the train passing on the restored tracks.
“Up-line train movement also started”, tweeted Ashwini Vaishnaw with a video of train passing on the restored tracks.
He further added that based on the information the administration has, the Railway board recommends that the investigation should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigaiton (CBI).
Earlier on Sunday, Odisha government has revised the number of fatalities in the triple train accident, bringing it down to 275 from 288, and put the number of injured at 1,175. The figures indicate that it is the third worst rail disaster in the nation.
Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express on its way to Chennai collided with the derailed coaches of Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and the its derailed coaches then hit the goods train on late Friday night. While many feared trapped, fifteen coaches of Coromandel Express came off the tracks, while two of the other train got derailed. The crash saw one train ram so hard into the other that carriages were lifted high into the air, twisting and then smashing off the tracks. Meanwhile, another carriage had been tossed entirely onto its roof crushing the passenger section.