A probe has been started into what appears to be an “accident.” However, it is only the “unnaturalness” of this incident that is haunting the railway officials.
The first thing that has puzzled the officials is the high speed with which the trailing North Coochbehar Sealdah bound Uttar Banga Express had approached the Sainthia
station before ramming onto the Bhagalpur Ranchi Vananchal Express. “As per the standards set in this route, the train was to ply with a speed of just 30 km per hour. But shockingly, it had hit the Vananchal Express with triple the speed,” reasoned a senior Eastern railway official.
Moreover, just half-a-kilometer before entering the Sainthia station, any train has to pass over a damaged bridge that runs over river Mayurakshi. “A board near that damaged bridge alerts all the trains to “ply slow.” Then what made the loco-pilot to pick up that speed?” questioned the official.
Though the accident might appear to be the result of an act of negligence on behalf of the loco-pilot Mahendra Chandra Dey and the assistant loco-pilot Nirmal Mandal, railway officials have enough reasons to believe otherwise. The loco-pilot had joined duty from Coochbehar after taking rest for 19 hours, which only means that he was not tired at least. “The Uttar Banga Express had stopped at the Gadadharpur station 7.5 kilometers away from Sainthia station. There, neither he nor the assistant pilot had expressed any discomfort. They had not reported any technical malfunctioning either. But it is very shocking as to why the pilot overshot the schedule and tried to enter Sainthia before time at an unusual speed,”said an official.
On being asked about the track record of the loco-pilot, it was known that Mr Dey, who died in the accident along with the assistant loco-pilot, was an “A-grade” loco-pilot. “He was an A-grade loco-pilot. He had enough experience in running trains on that track,”said a senior railway official. However, the mystery behind the incident only deepens as the railway officials consider the working of the home and distance signals. Station master of Sainthia station Pulak Roy claimed that the Uttar Banga Express had approached the station despite a “Red signal.”