Odisha crash: CBI inquiry on, no train to halt at Bahanaga station for now

While Bahanaga Bazar station is not a regular stoppage for express trains, local passenger and goods trains often halt at the station while awaiting a green signal. Soro and Khantapada, the two nearby stations, will now be used for most of these trains.

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A multi-disciplinary joint inspection by supervisors had concluded that a green signal was given to the Coromandel Express to pass through on the designated main line, and then the signal was taken off. The train entered the loop line, and rammed into the goods train.

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While the CBI has already sealed the panel room — which houses the signalling system for all passing trains — at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore district, as part of its probe into the three-train crash on June 2 that claimed 288 lives, no goods or passenger trains will be allowed to halt at the station for now.

“The relay room, panel and other equipment are under investigation, they have been sealed… Till the investigation is over, trains will not be stopped at the station. They are part of the evidence which need to be secured. As soon as we get clearance from the CBI, trains will start halting at the station,” said Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, chief public relations officer, South Eastern Railways.

While Bahanaga Bazar station is not a regular stoppage for express trains, local passenger and goods trains often halt at the station while awaiting a green signal. Soro and Khantapada, the two nearby stations, will now be used for most of these trains.

Besides a 10-member team of the CBI accompanied by forensic experts, a separate team from the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) is also probing the crash. “They are collecting evidence from different places. Both the teams — CBI and CRS — are working in tandem,” said a senior railway official.

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A CBI team visited the accident site Saturday and held discussions with railway officials. Sources said the CBI has questioned six persons so far, including the stationmaster and three station superintendents of Bahanaga Bazar who usually man the station’s panel room. The CBI is learnt to have seized their cellphones, log book and digital logs, before and after the accident, from the record room for forensic examination.

The Railways has indicated the possibility of a signalling error behind the accident. A multi-disciplinary joint inspection by supervisors had concluded that a green signal was given to the Coromandel Express to pass through on the designated main line, and then the signal was taken off. The train entered the loop line, and rammed into the goods train.