On June 17, the freight train (DN GFCJ) crashed into Sealdah-bound Kanchenjunga Express from the rear in Darjeeling district. While Anil Kumar, the loco pilot of the freight train, died on the spot, Manu Kumar, the assistant loco pilot, survived and is still recuperating at a railway hospital in Assam.
According to the report, Kumar had spotted the express train 284 metres ahead and applied the emergency brakes but by then it was too late. The trains collided at the speed of 40 kmph.
Failure of automatic signal, lapses at multiple levels in managing operations, and non-availability of critical safety equipment such as walkie-talkie with the loco pilot and train manager are some of the reasons cited for collision.
According to the report, the presence of another train — the 12506 Northeast Express — that affected the loco pilot’s line of vision.
“The presence of 12506 on the UP line in the same section has affected the line of sight and (the) loco pilot could only see the rear coach of DN 13174 only after passing 332 metres from signal no. AS652 and applied the emergency brake, unfortunately could not stop the collision. At the time of emergency brake application, the speed of the train was 78 kmph and roughly around 284 metres from the SLR coach. The train DN GFCJ collided with DN 13174 at a speed of 40 kmph. The time of the collision was around 08:50:18 hrs,” the report said.
Between the train’s departure from Rangapani station at 8:45 am and the accident at 8:50 am, the loco pilot put the freight train in “throttle position 10 times within a period of five minutes indicating he was alert”. But the pilot did not follow the “the maximum permissible speed of 15 kmph” mentioned in the paper slip pass issued after the automatic signal failure occurred, the report said.
In another section on safety equipment, the report highlighted a shortage of walkie talkie sets in the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway, under which the accident occurred. According to the report, the driver and the train manager of the freight train were not given walkie-talkies — essential for communication with base stations — on the day of the crash.
“As per crew, lobby/NJP report, even on 17.06.24, 18 goods train crew (loco pilots and train managers) were not issued walkie talkie sets. The loco pilots and train manager of DN GFCJ were also not issued walkie talkie sets. It is also observed that from 12.6.2024 to 17.06.2024 137 numbers of goods trains were not provided with walkie talkie sets,” stated the report.
According to the report, there were only 72 walkie talkies in the Katihar division against the requirement of 260. For the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) division, the shortfall was even higher, with only 169 available against the required 377.