Balasore accident probe report: Public relations prioritised over passenger safety, alleges TMC

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the BJP-led Centre on Tuesday of "prioritising public relations over passenger safety" and alleged that concerns raised by the opposition on serious issues regarding the Indian Railways were disregarded.

Reacting to a probe report on the Balasore train tragedy that highlighted multi-level lapses, TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien claimed that passenger trains in the country have become "mobile mortuaries".

"India's passenger trains are neglected and remain mobile mortuaries. In Parliament, opposition parties have often red-flagged serious issues and offered constructive suggestions. No one listened, because PR (public relations) is prioritised over PS (passenger safety). Was maintenance jeopardised because it was a service dog, not a show dog?" O'Brien asked.

A high-level inquiry by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) has found "wrong signalling" to be the main reason for the accident involving three trains in Balasore and flagged "lapses at multiple levels" in the signalling and telecommunication (S&T) department, but indicated that the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were reported.

The independent inquiry report submitted to the Railway Board said notwithstanding the lapses in signalling work, remedial action could have been taken by the S&T staff if the "repeated unusual behaviour" of switches connecting two parallel tracks was reported to them by the station manager of Bahanaga Bazar, the spot of the accident.

The accident on June 2 claimed 293 lives and left more than 1,000 injured.