RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / TN Express fire kills 32

At least 32 people perished and 26 suffered burns as fire engulfed a second class sleeper coach of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express, minutes after the train crossed Nellore station early Monday.

The coach, S-11, was completely gutted. Officials confirmed that 28 bodies were recovered from the coach till 6 pm on Monday and kept in the waiting rooms at Nellore railway station. Over 72 passengers were in the compartment at the time of the inferno.

According to reports, an electric short circuit between 4 am and 4:30 am sparked off the fire. Eyewitnesses and railway officials told Deccan Herald that the victims were choked to death and charred beyond recognition.

Neither Railway Board officials, nor Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who rushed to the spot, has ruled out possibilities of a sabotage. “Some eyewitness account strengthens suspicion of a blast,” a railway official said.

However, they iterated that the actual cause can be asserted only after a forensic test is conducted. “Nothing is ruled out. Only a forensic test can bring out the actual cause,” Reddy said during a brief interaction with reporters at Nellore railway station. “Everything is burnt, what can we say even prima facie? Only forensic probe will reveal the cause of the fire,” said South Central Railway’s Divisional Railway Manager, Anurag.

The gate-man at the level crossing reportedly heard a blast and reported it to the divisional railway manager. “We cannot say anything now. However, every possibility will be looked into while investigation. Statutory inquiry will be conducted by Commissioner of Railway Safety (South Central Circle), D K Singh,” said railway spokesperson Anil Saxena.

Based on seat numbers, five bodies were identified till 6 pm on Monday, after relatives of the victims were ferried to Nellore in a special train. They are Bhagat Singh from Amritsar, travelling to Chennai from New Delhi, Shalini, a software professional who boarded from Warangal and Raju, Ashwini and Venkatraman from Tamil Nadu. Of the 26 injured, 20 are men and six women, besides a girl.

Eyewitness accounts suggest that the gate-keeper at the Nellore station noticed the flame barely 500 metres from the first railway crossing and informed the station master. As the loco driver applied brakes, passengers rushed out. Fire and rescue personnel were soon pressed into action.

 “Around 15 passengers jumped to safety, even as S-11 and four other coaches were detached from the rest of the coaches,” said a railway official from Vijayawada. The survivors were accommodated in other compartments as the train left for Chennai around 8 am. An accident relief van was deployed to move the gutted coach to the Nellore main railway station where forensic experts will inspect it.

Meanwhile, Kiran Kumar Reddy has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased while Railway Minister Mukul Roy has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. “Relatives of the deceased will get an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each and those grievously injured will get a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each. Besides, people with minor injuries will get Rs 25,000 each,” Roy told reporters in Kolkata.

Though an enquiry into the mishap has already been ordered, Roy said nothing concrete on the cause behind the fire can be said right now. “I will not rule out any possibility,” he said.

Late in the evening, Union Minister of State for Railways K H Muniappa also visited the Nellore station and visit the injured in the hospitals. He said the Commissioner For Railway Safety will be holding an independent probe into the fire mishap.

  Indian Railways News  / Chief Minister announces Rs. 1 lakh solatium

Governor K. Rosaiah, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and leaders of political parties in the State conveyed their condolences to the families of passengers who lost their lives in the tragic fire accident in the early hours of Monday on the Tamil Nadu Express bound for Chennai.Ms. Jayalalithaa said she has deputed senior ministers and bureaucrats to visit the accident site in Nellore to take care of the injured passengers from the state and offer condolence to the families of the victims. Expressing deep shock, she said she had granted Rs one lakh to each to the families of the passengers who died in the accident and Rs. 25,000 each to the injured.In a statement, Mr. Rosaiah conveyed his condolences to the bereaved members of the family and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Expressing shock at the incident, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said the Centre has provided Rs. 5 lakh each to the families of victims of the train accident.TNCC president B.S. Gnanadesikan said the spurt in the number of train accidents was reflective of the poor maintenance of compartments and weak safety links.

It was not clear if the railway administration was implementing recommendations based on enquiries into previous accidents. Such fire accidents were unpardonable, he said.

T. R. Baalu, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, said the committee, in its next meeting, would review the reasons behind the tragic accident and submit recommendations to Parliament.

PMK president S. Ramadoss, CPI state president D. Pandian, DMDK president Vijayakant, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and other leaders expressed their condolences.

  Indian Railways News  / Railway Minister at Chennai Central station

Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy said on Monday that the railways would offer jobs to the kin of those who died in the fire accident on the Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore. A solatium of Rs. 5 lakh will be provided to the families of those who died and Rs. one lakh each for those seriously injured. Before departing for Nellore, from Chennai, Mr Roy spoke to the journalists at the station.Expressing his heartfelt sympathies to the victims’ families, he said an enquiry had been ordered into the issue by the district administration. Asked about possible sabotage, Mr. Roy said: “I am not ruling out anything. I have ordered an enquiry.”

  Indian Railways News  / Railway Minister at Chennai Central station

Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy said on Monday that the railways would offer jobs to the kin of those who died in the fire accident on the Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore. A solatium of Rs. 5 lakh will be provided to the families of those who died and Rs. one lakh each for those seriously injured. Before departing for Nellore, from Chennai, Mr Roy spoke to the journalists at the station.Expressing his heartfelt sympathies to the victims’ families, he said an enquiry had been ordered into the issue by the district administration. Asked about possible sabotage, Mr. Roy said: “I am not ruling out anything. I have ordered an enquiry.”

  Indian Railways News  / CAPITAL WOES: Metro freezes in its tracks

New Delhi : The office-goers at the Delhi Metro stations were taken aback when they came to know that the train services would not be available in the morning. The Delhi Metro train services that usually start at 6 am could not be operational today because of failure of the northern grid in the wee hours today. It is only at 7 am, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) arranged power supply from Bhutan to resume the services, said a spokesperson for the DMRC.“Owing to the breakdown of power supply from the northern grid, auxiliary and traction power supply of all Metro lines/depots was not available from 2:35 am to 7 am. As a result, the Metro trains could not be taken out from depots at 6 am, as per the normal schedule,” he said.Around 7 am, when power supply was resumed from the northern grid, the trains were rolled out from respective depots for the services in a phased manner.At 9 am, regular services were made available on all the Metro lines.A team of senior officials from the Delhi Metro’s Electrical wing swung into action at 2.30 am to ensure that power supply was resumed for the trains at the earliest. Separate teams were deployed for DMRC’s Control Centres at Shastri Park and Metro Bhawan to supervise the overall situation and ensure the earliest restoration of power supply.“We did regular announcements regarding non-availability of Metro services. Though, all stations remained closed from 6 am to 7 am, adequate information was displayed outside the stations regarding non-availability of services,” said the spokesperson.

“I reached the Green Park Metro station at 6.30 in the morning as I had to board Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway Station. But no services were available,” said a student.