NIA examines sabotage angle in Tamil Nadu train derailment

Chennai: Within 18 hours of the derailment of Mysuru-Darbhanga Express near Gummidipoondi in Tamil Nadu that left 19 passengers injured, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday inspected the accident site twice on Saturday to probe sabotage angle in the mishap.

The collision – the passenger train hit the rear of a goods train after having entered the loop line instead of the main line for which it had the green signal, brought back the scary memories of the 2023 Balasore accident with coaches scattered across tracks on the busy Chennai-Vijayawada section.

While a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) from the NIA inspected the accident site at Kavaraipettai in the morning, another team led by Sreejith T, SP, NIA, arrived in the evening to take a close look at the railway tracks. The SP also interacted with Railway officials for about 20 minutes and got to know about the interlock system and how it functions.

Sources said NIA and the Commissioner of Railway Safety are examining whether outdoor signalling gears and connecting rods were tampered with.

“Such errors are very remote in the automatic signalling system. The CRS will give a detailed report in about 10 days, while NIA has also begun its work to see if there was any sabotage,” a source aware of the developments told DH.

The train crew had the green signal after it crossed Ponneri at 8.27 pm to enter the main line towards Kavaraipettai station but experienced a heavy jerk. “…instead of going into the main line as per the signal given, the train entered into the Loop line and hit the goods train standing in loop line,” Southern Railway said in a statement.

As many as 13 coaches of the passenger train derailed, while the parcel van of the goods train caught fire due to the impact of the collision.

The goods train being empty and the inbuilt safety features of the LHB coaches of the passenger train are the reasons that could have resulted in no casualty despite the huge impact, the sources added.

The train had 1,360 passengers and was running at a speed of 75 km per hour when the accident took place. Opposition Congress wasn’t convinced with the “sabotage” angle with its Tiruvallur MP Sasikanth Senthil calling NIA inspection as a “diversionary tactic.”

Though there was no casualty, the impact of the collision was so intense that only one line was cleared for traffic by Saturday evening while work on the remaining three lines are still on. All the lines are expected to be opened for traffic by Sunday.

R N Singh, General Manager, Southern Railway, said the loco pilot was following the signals properly till Ponneri station but it wasn’t immediately clear why he entered the loop line despite the green signal to take the main line. “We have ordered a detailed inquiry,” he said.

Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a statement on Saturday that 19 people were injured in the accident, while SR said seven people were provided ex-gratia. “19 people were taken to hospitals but only seven are currently receiving treatment, of which three are in Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai and four at Ponneri government hospital,” a top government official told DH.

The accident led to massive disruption in train services along the ever-busy Chennai-Vijayawada section with at least 40 trains being diverted through Arakkonam and Renigunta, while two dozen trains on different routes were cancelled. The route connects the Tamil Nadu capital with New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Nagpur, among other cities.

Within hours of the accident, SR transported about 1,200 passengers of the train to Chennai Central via EMUs. The stranded passengers, after a medical check-up, left for their respective destinations in a special train that departed Chennai Central railway station at 4.45 am on Saturday.

Officials said the focus now is on restoring the track for traffic which is being overseen by Southern Railway General Manager and other senior officials.