Restoration of the tracks where the worst train crash that India witnessed in decades occurred has been completed, 51 hours after the tragedy unfolded. Videos showed the first train movement in the section as Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw prayed on the side-lines.
"Everyone has done a great job. I feel great sadness for the affected families but we will get to the root cause of the incident and whoever is responsible will be severely punished," the Railways Minister said.
Earlier today the Railways ministry sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the three-train pile-up in Odisha's Balasore. More than 270 people have died in Friday's accident, which is being described as one of the worst in the country.
"Keeping in mind all that happened, the information that the administration has, the Railways board has made a recommendation that the investigation be handed over to the CBI," Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters.
The Railways said due to a "signalling interference", the Coromandel Express met with an accident and its engine and coach crashed into a goods train laden with iron ore stationed on one of the loop lines. Critics, though, have flagged an audit report of railways which cited several serious lapses in rail safety. The report was tabled in the Parliament in September last year.
On Sunday, the Odisha government revised the number of fatalities in the triple train accident, bringing it down to 275 from 288, and put the number of injured at 1,175. The figures indicate that it is the third worst rail disaster in the country.
