Title - Railway Denies Reports Of Possible Collision Between Rajdhani Express, Duronto Express

The SCR rules out reports that a possible collision between two trains was averted when the Rajdhani Express passed a red signal at Adoni.

Following reports of a Rajdhani Express jumping a red signal near Adoni, the South Central Railway has placed two drivers and a supervisor of the train under suspension.

However, the SCR has completely ruled out reports that a possible collision between a Rajdhani Express and a Duronto Express was averted when the Rajdhani Express passed a red signal at Adoni railway station in the wee hours of August 24.

In a media release on Saturday, the SCR spokesperson said that the Rajdhani driver had overshot the red signal only by the length of two coaches. He denied some media reports that claimed that the train had overshot the signal by one kilometre. He added that it was well within the safety margin provided to avoid any mishap in such exceptional circumstances.

"Even in a hypothetical situation of the train traveling more distance beyond the signal, it would have come to a halt at the sand hump available on the same track line No. 2, which is normally provided as a systemic safety measure at stations," the SCR spokesperson said.

According to the SCR, Train No. 12429, the Bangalore - Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express was planned for a stop at Adoni station, for the crossing of Train No. 12214, the Delhi-Yesvantpur Duronto Express, in the early hours of August 24.

As per rules, any train must stop before a signal post that shows a red aspect. However, in this instance, the loco pilot of the Rajdhani Express passed a distance of approximately 60 meters past the signal post, which was red, before halting the train on track line no. 3 at Adoni station, at around 02:36am. The driver had immediately backed the train to keep it before the signal post.

As a precautionary measure, the brake power of the Rajdhani Express train was also checked by railway technicians, who found that it was normal. No repairs were carried out on the train. The onboard crew were immediately withdrawn, a fresh set of loco pilot and co-loco pilot were arranged, and the train was despatched from Adoni at 5:15am, the SCR said.

In the meanwhile, the Duronto Express was safely passed through on track line no. 3 at Adoni Station, as planned, at 2:42am, without any detention whatsoever.

The SCR said that the trains were dealt two separate routes which are non-conflicting - Rajdhani Express on track no. 3, the main line in the down direction, with its route set to a buffer dead-end; and Duronto on track no. 2, which is the main line in the up direction. The SCR claimed that thus there was no scope whatsoever for a collision beween the two.

"The incident was viewed very seriously by the Railway administration, and both the loco pilot and the co-pilot were taken off duty from Rajdhani Express and subjected to necessary tests. Based on the preliminary investigation, both the drivers and the supervisor concerned were placed under suspension. A high-level enquiry by a committee of senior officers was also ordered. The committee has already started its enquiry at Adoni / Guntakal," the SCR spokesperson said.