Odisha train accident: Railways seeks CBI probe amid political outburst

The Railways has sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Odisha train accident after Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw claimed the "root cause of the accident" and the individuals behind the "criminal" act were identified. Railways officials also hinted at possible "sabotage" and tampering with the electronic interlocking system—a form of railway signaling system—that allegedly led to Friday's accident.

• Almost 290 people died and over 900 individuals sustained injuries after three trains collided in Odisha's Balasore.
• "Around 7:00pm (Friday), 10-12 coaches of the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed near Balasore and fell on the opposite track," an Indian Railways spokesperson confirmed on Saturday.
• Right after, a Yeshwanthpur-Howrah train crashed into the derailed coaches, causing the derailment of three-four of its coaches, added the official.

"We have recommended a CBI probe into the triple train accident that claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured," PTI quoted Vaishnaw as saying on Sunday. The minister also assured that the Centre, along with the support of the Odisha government, is providing all necessary assistance to injured parties who are admitted to hospitals in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Balasore.

Earlier, Vaishnaw claimed that the reason behind the tragedy was related to electronic interlocking and an electric point machine. "The setting of the point machine was changed. How and why it was done will be revealed in the probe report," he said. "The root cause of the horrifying incident has been identified. Let the report come out," added the minister.

Reportedly, a 2022 audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) of the Indian Railways had also highlighted numerous serious rail safety lapses months before Friday's terrifying train crash. The report had flagged numerous shortfalls in inspections, failure to submit or accept inquiry reports, and non-utilization of funds on priority tasks, among others.

The report, presented in Parliament last year, also referred to inadequacies in the "Track Management System," which has received much attention since the Odisha triple-train tragedy. "Track Management System (TMS) is a web-based application for online monitoring of track maintenance activities. The in-built monitoring mechanism of the TMS portal was, however, not found to be operational," added the audit.