How India’s deadly train crash unfolded
STORY: It was India’s deadliest rail crash in decades, that would leave nearly 300 dead and over a thousand injured, in most part, the poorest passengers.
But how did the Odisha rail crash unfold?
We – Reuters – have analyzed drone footage, reports and schematics, to reconstruct what happened.
We begin on the 2nd of June at 6:55pm in the rural, sleepy Balasore District near the Bahanaga Bazar train station.
The Howrah Superfast Express is heading north towards Kolkata when it drives past the Coromandel Express that was on an opposite main railway line.
Both trains were going at speeds of 80 miles per hour.
Next, the southbound Coromandel Express receives an incorrect signal from the signal system, which diverts it away from the main rail line.
It mistakenly enters a side track, collides into a parked freight train carrying iron ore.
The coaches of the Coromandel Express derail and then strike cars of the passing Howrah Superfast Express.
The Reuters analysis shows the cheapest and most crowded carriages bore the brunt of the crash impact.
An Indian Railways spokesperson confirmed the cheapest carriages were among the worst affected by the disaster.
On the southbound Coromandel Express, they were nearer the engine.
These drone shots show the sitting and luggage coach by the engine, followed by the non-air conditioned coaches, which according to our analysis suffered the highest impact on collision.
The more expensive air conditioned coaches behind are separated by the pantry car.
Here we can see both trains next to each other in the directions they were travelling.
The unreserved carriages on both, on the left side of this image, received the highest impact on collision.
On the Howrah Superfast Express, the cheaper carriages are farthest from the engine, and were hit by the derailed Coromandel Express cars.
Unreserved and general coaches are the cheapest forms of rail transport in India and are often used by migrant workers crossing the country.
They’re designed to carry around 100 people, but are often overcrowded with passengers sleeping or sitting in the aisles if they cannot find a seat.
Reserved, air-conditioned carriages are comparatively roomy.
How did this crash even happen?
Indian and international media have previously reported there may be a malfunction in the automated signalling system that guides trains.
Indian Railways sources now tell Reuters an official probe into the crash is focusing on suspected manual bypassing of an automated signalling system.
Investigators suspect railway workers bypassed it to get around signalling hurdles caused from a malfunctioning barrier used to stop road traffic at this rail-road intersection, nearby.
Indian Railways says safety on India’s trains has improved steadily over the past decades with accident rates having fallen.
India’s rail network is undergoing a $30 billion transformation with new high speed trains, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to boost infrastructure and connectivity.
But the June 2 crash has raised questions about whether safety has received enough attention.