RailEnquiry

  Indian Railways News  / No clue yet in TN Express tragedy

Did a careless passenger carry a Jerri can of kerosene on board Tamil Nadu Express (12622), or did a smoker not stub out his beedi or cigarette completely? Or, was it a case of an electrical short-circuit that sparked off a fire in the S11 compartment of the train, killing 32 and injuring many others early on Monday morning near Nellore station.

Officials, who began an investigation into the ghastly fire, are looking at the case from different angles. Despite the sabotage rumour doing the rounds, no evidence to suggest such a theory has been ferreted out so far.

Any enquiry has to rely on forensic evidence, and so, hope has been pinned on the experts from the Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory (APFSL) who have begun their job. They began going through the charred coach with a fine-toothed comb, collecting bits and pieces of metal, soot and scraping residue to establish if an inflammable material like kerosene or an explosive substance was used. Interestingly, media mention of sabotage was only based on the claim of an injured passenger, Madanlal, who said he woke up to a loud bang, a sound that was repeated twice more, even as he was scrambling out of the burning coach. An investigator said this was the only reason they were checking this out closely, so they could eliminate this angle if possible. Whether it was sabotage or a short circuit, only a forensic investigation will reveal Political leaders have echoed this sentiment — from Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Minister of Railways Mukul Roy, Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal, South Central Railway General Manager G.N. Asthana to Divisional Railway Manager Anurag.

Monday’s mishap also brings to the fore the security preparedness of the Railways. If it were true that a passenger in all his/her innocence brought on board a Jerri can of kerosene, how is it that it escaped a basic security check at the entrance of the station?

Unlike cities like Mumbai, New Delhi or Kolkata, there are virtually no checks even in places like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Secunderabad or Chennai.

Door-frame metal detectors are in place and security personnel toting hand-held metal detectors are present. But is the purpose achieved, is what people are asking.

A proposal to introduce an Integrated Security Management System (ISMS) across the country is yet to be cleared.

It envisages having in place a live security mechanism that will ensure constant monitoring with the help of closed-circuit television cameras and baggage scanners. An official admitted that this project has been delayed due to a variety of reasons.

  Indian Railways News  / Grid failure: Power restoration starts in Uttar Pradesh, panic continues

LUCKNOW: Power supply to railways in Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad was restored through northern grid by the evening. However, rest of the state continued to reel under power crisis. Authorities said that power supply for crucial services like railways and hospitals will be restored by 7-8 pm but for for normal supply, people will have to wait till midnight. The power restoration in major cities like Lucknow, Agra and Varanasi was also expected by 8 pm. In Lucknow, supply of VIP localities having residences of chief minister and ministers, Raj Bhawan and posh Gomtinagar was restored at around 6 pm.

Earlier, at around 1.05 pm, the Uttar Pradesh plunged into power crisis again with Northern Power Grid collapsed second time in last two days. As compared to the blackout in the wee hours on Monday, the impact on Tuesday was more because of prolonged power outage during the day. On Monday, UP Power Corporation Limited was able to provide relief to emergency services like hospitals, railways and water supply in major districts by borrowing power from the eastern grid. But on Tuesday, the crisis aggravated further because Eastern Power Grid also tripped. The Northern Grid collapsed on Tuesday again while the power of restoring power supply was underway. This time again a fault in transmission near Agra triggered the collapse.

Railways was the worst hit with all trains on electrified routes in the state came to standstill. Over 125 trains were affected in Mughalsarai junction alone. The railway authorities deployed diesel engines for a few important trains such as Shatabdi Express and Gomti Express from Lucknow but it could not bring the desired relief. Trains were delayed for more than 10-12 hours. Some even more. Passengers complaint that they were not getting information about the status of the trains. Chaos and confusion prevailed at the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. The rush due to festival of Rakshi added to the problem. Heavy rush was witnessed for the state roadways buses as almost all the 421 trains which passes through the state were running late.

Health services in Lucknow were also badly hit. Though many hospitals had back up in the form of generators but in view of the crisis, only emergency surgical operations were done. Hospitals gave priority to emergency services, Intensive Care Units and burn Patients' wards. The patients in general wards were forced to live hot and humid conditions. Patients in centralised air conditioned wards also faced difficulties. Authorities kept their fingers crossed hoping for restoration of power supply as early as possible because most of the big hospitals have back up for 10-15 hours. However, the situation was grim in most of the small private nursing homes which had back up only for few hours. Similar situation was reported from other parts of UP.

Over 50,000 small scale industries in the west UP and Kanpur suffered huge losses due to the power crisis. "We have generator sets but fuel capacity is only for 12 hours. Power in other places was restored but we are facing blackout from Monday morning," said SC Garg, a Kanpur based industrialist. Cases of people caught in lifts and dysfunctional ATM services were also reported from all over the state. Panic buying of the diesel for generator sets led to shortage of fuel in many parts. According to rough estimates over 50 lakh crore people were directly affected by the power crisis after the grid collapse. At many places, households preferred not to use inverters and generators to save alternate resource for the night, in case crisis stretched for long.

Even in the normal circumstances, heavy rostering is done across UP because power generation in the state is less than one third of the demand. But sources said that in last few days,e power generation of thermal power plants in the state has come down further due to shortage of coal. Also, there is pressure from the government of supplying 24X7 to constituencies represented by the VVIP like Kannauj, Rampur, Etawah, Mainpuri etc. The UP Power Corporation Limited has also been asked to supply more power to rural areas which received scanty rain this monsoon for irrigation. There is also pressure of fulfilling government's promise to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Muslim dominated areas in the state in the ongoing month of Ramazan.

  Indian Railways News  / There were three blasts: Survivor

NELLORE: An eye-witness and a survivor of the Tamil Nadu Express fire accident, S Madanlal, on Tuesday insisted that there were at least three blasts in the S-11 coach that caught fire.

Madanlal, a resident of I Town area in Vijayawada, asserted that it was a planned attack by subversive elements and not an accident as believed by many, including police. A wholesale dealer of electrical equipment in Vijayawada, Madanlal was on his way to Chennai on some business work. "I was among the first few passengers to reach the exit door, which we could open with great difficulty. I first heard the blast sound and also heard two more blast noises," he told TOI.

Madanlal, occupant of berth number 69, said he jumped out of the train soon after smelling the smoke and seeing the flames engulfing the coach fast. He was admitted to Bollineni Hospital as he fell unconscious soon after jumping out .

Recollecting his horrifying journey in the ill-fated coach, Madanlal said, "Undoubtedly, it was a blast that resulted in the fire." He further said that had it been short-circuit, there would not have been such a deafening sound. "It was a very loud sound just like what we hear after a huge blast. While getting down, I heard it at least 2-3 times," he said. Madanlal said he is ready to depose before the investigating authorities, if summoned.

  Indian Railways News  / Trains worst hit, airport held on

Rail services came to a screeching halt as power tripped, affecting lakhs of passengers across northern India. However, the situation was much better at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) as only two flights were delayed due to power cuts. Delhi International  Airport Limited (DIAL), however claimed that there were no cancellations or delays. "Entire load of the airport was restored within 15-60 seconds. As soon as the power supply showed fluctuations, the 'Main Receiving Sub-Station' (MRSS) at IGIA ensured that the DG sets automatically took the load," a DIAL spokesperson said.

But rail passengers were not that lucky since trains were reported stranded at almost every station in northern India when power went off in seven states at 2.33 am due to the major failure in northern grid. 

Around 300 trains, including 130 of the Northern Railway division, were affected on their way to the Capital from several parts of the country, the railways said.

"Around 130 Northern Railway trains were affected due to grid failure. All trains were stranded as signals were not functional. It will take some time before trains services are restored fully as there is a huge backlog," said Niraj Sharma, chief PRO, Northern Railway.

Fifty trains, including several Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duranto express, were rescheduled to clear the backlog. Some trains were pulled by diesel engines and brought to the Capital.

"To provide immediate relief to passengers, we replaced electric locomotives with diesel engines as the power failed," Sharma said.

All electric suburban trains have been cancelled till the time the backlog is cleared and complete supply is restored, officials said.

It was complete chaos at railway stations as thousands were stranded at several stations across Delhi.

Many complained that there was no information available about the arrival and departure timings of trains

  Indian Railways News  / The tragedy of being in Coach S-11

The tracks leading to the Nellore Railway Station have turned into a desolate museum of sorts, thronged by scores of visitors. The sight that greets people here are the gory remnants of a fire accident that claimed 32 lives and injured 27 in the early hours on Monday.

At 4.22 a.m., a fire broke out in the S11 coach of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express (12622), as the train, which began its journey in Delhi, was passing through Nellore.

A pair of white shoes lies abandoned on a section of the tracks. Near the shoes are a few blood-stained air pillows. Toothbrushes, shaving gear and packets of what used to be dinner, are some of the other items strewn on the tracks. At around 2.30 p.m., a group of locals huddle by the tracks in mournful silence, some scanning the debris carefully, others curious about the ash. About 100 metres away, a group of residents from Nellore Ramamurthy Nagar are taking shade beneath a tree. These residents saw the train compartment go up in flames. “It was around 4 a.m. I think, when I heard a commotion. When I stepped out, I was shocked to see a compartment on fire,” said Venkateswaralu, a resident. As he had undergone a throat operation he could not rush forward to save the passengers, but called the fire service, an ambulance and a few local politicians, he said.

“But there were other residents who rushed forward to give water to the thirsty passengers. Some were crying and some were trying to make calls to their loved ones. By 5 a.m., two fire-fighting vehicles arrived and were trying to douse the flames,” said Venkateswaralu.

No barrier

For them language was not a barrier. “Some of them knew Telugu, but many did not. But we knew they needed help and we did what we could. This is the first time we are seeing such an accident on a track near our locality,” added Venkateswarlu.

K. Chandrasekhar, another resident says he was woken up by the barking of dogs. “It was unusual, so I came out and I saw was the compartment burning. By then the fire service had arrived. Ambulances were also present at the site of the accident,” he said.

“The railways hike fares frequently, but the facilities remain abysmal. Their negligence has cost so many lives,” says P. Abdul Thameem, another resident.