India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed that a train collision in southern India last October, that resulted in 14 fatalities, was attributed to the train crew’s distraction of watching Cricket World Cup game on their mobile phones. The accident was brought up by Vaishnaw during the discussion of forthcoming safety measures.
The collision between a passenger train traveling from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada and the Palasa Express, which was heading to Visakhapatnam in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, took place in October 2023. The accident occurred when the Vishakhapatnam-Rayagada train was moving at a speed of approximately 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour). As a result of the accident, at least three train cars were derailed. The authorities initiated an investigation to ascertain the precise cause of the accident, with human error being considered a potential factor.
During the day of the tragic incident, India competed against England in a group stage game of the 50-over Cricket World Cup. Ultimately, India emerged victorious, securing a win with a 100-run margin.
The train crew was found to be unfocused due to the cricket match, as acknowledged by the railway minister. The minister emphasized the implementation of distraction-detecting systems to ensure that train operators remain fully attentive to their duties. The minister restated the railways’ commitment to safety and pledged a comprehensive investigation into the root causes of accidents to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Last year was one of the deadliest for Indian railways, which remains a key means of transportation in the nation of 1.4 billion. More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across the country daily. Throughout 2023, at least 17 major train accidents and scores of fatalities were reported in the country.
Indian railways experienced a very high number of fatalities in 2023, making it one of the deadliest periods for this crucial mode of transportation in a nation of 1.4 billion people. Each day, approximately 12 million individuals rely on the extensive network of 14,000 trains that traverse the country. In the course of 2023, there were a minimum of 17 significant train accidents and hundreds of deaths recorded in India.
In June 2023, nearly 300 people died and 1,200 were injured in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, when the high-speed Coromandel Express (Kolkata to Chennai) crashed into a freight train and its coaches derailed and collided with another high-speed train (the Bengaluru-Howrah Express) coming from the opposite direction. Three railway employees were later charged with homicide and arrested.
In June of last year, an incident occurred in Odisha, India, where the Coromandel Express, a high-speed train traveling from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with a freight train. As a result of the collision, the coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed and collided with the Bengaluru-Howrah Express, another high-speed train approaching from the opposite direction. Tragically, this incident led to the loss of nearly 300 lives and left around 1,200 individuals injured. Subsequently, three railway employees were charged with homicide and taken into custody.
