India Train Collision Results in Over 280 Deaths

Two passenger trains collided around 7 p.m. local time Friday in the Balasore District of Odisha State, according to an initial government report. The first train struck a stationary freight train at full speed and derailed, causing the second train to collide with some of the dislocated cars. The probable cause of the crash was signal problems.

Railway officials have offered preliminary assessments that indicate at least 288 people were killed and more than 700 were injured, with 56 of them badly hurt. There were over 2,200 passengers onboard the trains, with approximately 23 cars derailed. Rescue workers needed cutting gear to reach some victims due to the severity of the damage.

One of the trains was the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, known for connecting large cities on India’s east coast at high speed. The other was the Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express train, running from Bangalore to Kolkata.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has launched an investigation and guaranteed compensation for those affected.

Crash Site Location

The crash happened at Bahanaga Bazar station, located near Balasore, a northeastern city known for its ancient temples and as a 17th-century British seaport. The closest airport is in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, and is several hours away by car. Temperatures around 100 Fahrenheit were present before the crash, typical of May’s hottest season.

The rescue operation concluded by Sunday morning, with over 50 canceled trains. Crews have been working hard to restore services, and the railway minister has stated that he expects them to resume by Wednesday at the latest.

Rail Safety in India

India has one of the world’s largest rail networks that underpins its economy, particularly in rural areas. Approximately 98% of the network was constructed between 1870 and 1930.

Derailments were once common, averaging 475 per year from 1980 to around 2002. Although they have significantly reduced in frequency, with approximately 50 per year across the last decade, they still occur. Train safety has improved in recent years, with serious accidents falling to 22 in the 2020 fiscal year and no passenger deaths occurring two years in a row.

Past incidents have resulted in passenger deaths, and the recent disaster is the deadliest since a 1995 collision approximately 125 miles from Delhi that killed more than 350 people. Over the last few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on improving the rail system through the elimination of unmanned railway crossings and additional signal conductors.

Modi has made transportation infrastructure a priority, with prominent attention paid to high-tech initiatives. For example, he has been inaugurating electric medium-range trains and is working on building a Japanese-style bullet train corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on the west coast.

In the aftermath of the recent tragedy, Modi visited the crash site, and opposition politicians already called for the resignation of the railway minister.

Mujib Mashal contributed reporting.