Faulty walkie-talkies behind train derailment?

Mumbai: The Madurai Express’ loco-pilots’ ‘non-functional’ walkie-talkie sets are reportedly to blame for the train’s derailment in the early hours of Friday. The sets are used to communicate between the front engine and rear engine (banker engine). Though no causalities were reported, the incident led to the cancellation of six express and two passengers trains. The Central Railway (CR) has ordered a probe by the chief safety officer (CSO) which is said to be Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) inquiry.

According to a CR officer, as there was a red signal on the line, the front engine’s loco-pilot failed to tell the rear engine’s loco pilot that he was stopping the train. “The frontal engine took 13 seconds to reduce the speed of the train while the banker engine took 21 seconds. If the message was successfully communicated, the incident would have been averted,” he claimed.   

Chief public relations officer, CR, Sunil Udasi said, “The causes will be looked into by the CSO to ascertain the reasons behind the derailment.”