Did Human Error Cause Mathura Train Accident?????????

NEW DELHI: The railways has ordered an inquiry into the accident near Mathura on Wednesday while defending the state-of-the-art signalling system.
It also pulled the two drivers of Goa Express, which rammed into the stationary Mewar Express, off duty pending the probe.

"We cannot comment on the reason behind the accident. Conclusions can be drawn only after detailed enquiry is completed," Sri Prakash, Member (Traffic), Railway Board, said.

While efforts are on to ascertain the cause of the accident, officials did not rule out the possibility of the drivers of Goa Express overlooking the signal leading to the accident, pointing towards human error.

Defending safety measures, railway officials insisted that the automatic block signal (ABS) system, which was operational in the section on which the accident occurred, was one of the best and widely used across the world.

Under the ABS system, the signal does not allow a train to enter a block unless it is clear. Once ABS system is operational, the driver of a train gets ample warning (three signals in an eight km stretch) if another train is moving on the same track. Officials also said that even the fastest trains take just one km to stop after brakes are applied.

If a train stops on the track and another train comes from behind, the driver of the approaching train first sees a double yellow signal, then a yellow and finally a red signal. Generally, the gap between green, double yellow, yellow and red is of around 6-8 km.

"The system is foolproof. There is ample warning of the situation," Sri Prakash said.

Pending enquiry, both drivers of Goa Express have been put under suspension and they have to prove their innocence before the probe committee. If proved guilty of ignoring the signal, the punishment would be dismissal from service.

Driver R K Chaturvedi, 45, who boarded the Delhi-bound train at Jhansi, has been in service for around 20 years and has a clean track record. His assistant Laxmi Kant also boarded the train at Jhansi.

"Both the drivers have excellent past records," Sri Prakash told TOI. "Their statements have been recorded. They have been put off duty till the inquiry is complete," he added.

Officials also ruled out any "fatigue angle" as the drivers would have been on board for only 5-6 hours from Jhansi to Nizamuddin.

The railways cited year-wise accident figures to show that the number of mishaps was declining due to increased safety measures and mechanisation. "Till October this year, 76 accidents took place compared to 98 in the same period last year," said Kamlesh Gupta, Advisor (Safety).

Train accidents have come down significantly from 415 in 2001-02 to 195 in 2006-07 and 177 in 2008-09. The figure was 351 in 2002-03, 325 in 2003-04, 234 in 2004-05, Gupta said, adding that accidents due to failure of railway staff had show a decline from 248 in 2001-02 to 73 in 2008-09.