Watch: Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express Crosses Odisha Train Accident Site

Odisha Train Accident: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday waved at the crew of a goods train as services resumed after 51 hours of a train accident in Balasore.

Image: ANI

Indian Railways has restored the tracks near the Bahanga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore, where a deadly train accident on Friday killed 275 and inured 1175 passengers. 51 hours after the crash, the first goods train passed on the down line, with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw overlooking the restoration work. Later, the up line was also restored. From Monday morning, the Railways has started running passenger trains as well in Odisha's Balasore, which were affected due to the triple train accident. Following the same, the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express was spotted crossing the Odisha Train Accident site.

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw cancelled his visit to Goa scheduled on Saturday immediately after the train crash to visit the crash site in Odisha. He was travelling for the flag off of the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express, which was later postponed. PM Modi flagged off the Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express on May 18, 2023 through video conferencing.

#WATCH | Howrah - Puri Vande Bharat Express crosses from Odisha’s Balasore where the deadly #TrainAccident took place on June 2.

Indian Railways resumed train movement on the affected tracks within 51 hours of the accident. pic.twitter.com/myosAUgC4H — ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023

As for the accident site, Railway Minister on Sunday waved at the crew of a goods train and prayed for a safe journey, as services resumed after 51 hours of a train accident in Balasore. "Services on both tracks have been restored. Normal train services on both lines have now been restored, 51 hours after the accident," said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

On Sunday, Vaishnaw said the accident occurred due to a "change in electronic interlocking". Three trains, including Bengaluru-Howrah Express, Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express and a goods train were involved in one of the deadliest rail crashes in decades. 

Electronic interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements between trains through an arrangement of tracks. It is basically a safety measure to prevent signals from being changed in improper sequence. The aim of this system is that no train gets the signal to proceed unless the route is proven safe.

Meanwhile, the probe of the tragic Odisha train accident that claimed the lives of 275 people and left over 1000 injured, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "The way this accident happened, looking at the conditions, and according to the administrative information. The Railway Board is recommending the probe to the CBI," Vaishnaw added.