Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday revealed the cause of the collision of two passenger trains in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in October 2023. Unfortunately, a cricket match was the main reason behind the deadly accident .
Two passenger trains collided on the Howrah-Chennai line at Kantakapalli in Vizianagaram district on October 29, resulting in the loss of at least 14 lives and around 50 injuries.
According to Wion, three cars of a stopped train derailed in the collision.
Vaishnaw, while discussing new safety initiatives by Indian Railways, cited the Andhra train accident, which revealed that the driver and his assistant had been engrossed in watching a cricket match on their cellphone, leading to the horrific collision.
While talking to Press Trust of India, he said, “The recent case in Andhra Pradesh occurred because both the pilot and co-pilot of the locomotive were distracted by a cricket match.
“We are now installing systems that can detect any such distractions and ensure that pilots and assistant pilots are fully focused on running the train.”
According WionThe Commission for Railway Safety (CRS) has not yet published an investigation report into the incident.
A preliminary investigation attributed responsibility to the driver and assistant driver of the Rayagada passenger train that collided with the stopped Visakhapatnam Palasa train from behind.
They were found to have violated regulations by passing faulty automatic signals, resulting in their deaths.
