Kakatiya Express driver blames signal glitch

Amrita Didyala| TNN | Feb 23, 2017, 

Representative image

HYDERABAD: The signal at the Jangaon station was not functioning properly and the driver was probably not at fault for missing it, the loco pilot of the Kakatiya fast passenger said in his defence, even as experts said that this major glitch on the world's biggest railway network causes many accidents every year.

As loco pilots blamed faulty signals and poor infrastructure for the incident, South Central Railway authorities embarked on a probe to find out the circumstances leading to the incident.

The incident also brought to the fore how railways is de void of any high-end technology intervention in making the signalling system automated, which experts say can cause such incidents to occur at regular intervals.

On an average, 10-12 loco pilots are shown the door every year in the South Central Railway zone alone. Currently, loco pilots have to completely depend on their presence of mind and split-second decision making. On certain occasions, the delay in applying break by even a few seconds or a sudden break can lead to an accident.

A pilot project of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) has been set up in the Secunderabad-Wadi section after a trial run two years ago.