'Human error blamed', ministry confirms 'Kavach' system not installed on Bengal route

Another major collision occurred near North Bengal’s Rangapani station when a goods train disregarded a signal and hit the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express on Monday morning.

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

Preliminary reports from the Rail Ministry and North-Frontier zone indicate that 1,100 passengers were on board. The incident, near New Jalpaiguri, has led to a thorough investigation, with railway officials primarily attributing the cause to human error.

Since 2023, a series of train accidents have plagued the Indian Railways, the largest transporter in the country. The triple train collision in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2, 2023, claimed 296 lives and injured 1,200 people.

Another accident occurred in Andhra Pradesh on October 29, 2023, devastating the towns of Alamanda and Kantakapalle and resulting in 14 fatalities. These incidents are part of a troubling trend.

In the wake of the incidents, experts criticise the government for failing to roll out the ‘Kavach’ technology across the rail network. This made-in-India system, which helps prevent accidents if two trains are travelling on the same line, was installed on the tracks in Darjeeling where the two trains collided. It was also not installed on the Balasore track.