An early morning collision of two goods trains at Singhpur station — which left a loco pilot dead and several others injured — was caused by overworked loco pilots, who were in a daze or microsleep, and crossed the signal in danger, according to an interim report on the April 19 accident.
The accident occurred in the Bilaspur Division of South East Central Railway (SECR) when one goods train collided with the rear of another, damaging railway assets and causing losses to the tune of ₹65.12 crore.
In his interim report, the Commissioner of Railway Safety A.M. Chowdhary expressed concern over the increasing number of trains passing the signal in danger and called for technological intervention to prevent such incidents.
Speed indicates fatigue
Mr. Chowdhary said that the crew of the approaching train had put in about 14 hours of duty, well beyond the stipulated nine hours. The speed at which the trains collided — 56 kmph — was a telling sign that fatigue or drowsiness may have played a major role. In a daze or state of micro sleep, the pilot does not seem to have made any conscious effort to apply the brakes to stop the train before the signal, resulting in the train overshooting the signal in red. The report concluded that the pilot had demonstrated a lack of alertness as he might have experienced chronic fatigue.
Working hours rules ignored
The Commissioner noted that the accident was caused due to the complete disregard of the extant rules framed to regulate the working hours of loco pilots and to ensure safe train operations.
In fact, there have been 120 cases of Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) incidents between April 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023 across the railway network, the Commissioner said, highlighting the limitations of preventive measures taken by the Railways such as counselling of loco pilots and safety drives.
Tech intervention needed
“The accident underscores the need for technological intervention to prevent SPAD. A faster roll out of the automatic track-protection system may be considered… The unabated cases of SPAD highlight the importance of isolation in signalling,” Mr. Chowdhary said.
In a similar incident reported at Adra Division of South Eastern Railway where two goods trains collided on June 25 this year, two loco pilots were removed from service after an investigation revealed that they were in microsleep, resulting in their train passing the signal in danger and colliding with the other train.
