With less than 24 hours, when Indian Railways has given the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the triple-train accident in Odishas Balasore, which killed over 275 people and left at least 1,000 injured. The railways have ordered a week-long safety drive all over India to ensure that the signalling systems work properly and also emphasised the double locking arrangements for its signalling system at stations.Notably, the relay rooms and places from where the signalling apparatus can be controlled are locked with the double locking system, which can be operated by the station master and the signalling staff together. the system also sends an auto-generated message to the designated officers whenever the lock of the relay room (from where the signalling is operated) is opened or closed.Apart from this, a letter has also been issued to the staff to ensure that the disconnection and reconnection of the signalling gear are done as per the guidelines.The order has been given by the department to ensure safety and security in the handling of the crucial system at every critical point.The directive issued by the ministry said, “All cabins housing signalling equipment with station limits should be checked and ensured being provided double locking arrangements.”“All relay rooms in stations should be checked and ensured for the proper working of double locking arrangement,” it said, adding that during the drive the staff will have to ensure that there is data logging and generation of SMS alerts for opening and closing of doors of relay rooms.Although the safety drive in railways is not new, this specific drive has been ordered after the horrific triple-train accident that happened at Balasore, Odisha, which killed almost 475 people. The Railways earlier also has officially expressed suspicion that its signalling apparatus may have run into some error, causing the accident.Apart from this, the South Eastern Railways has cancelled some of the trains at the affected routes. The bulletin by the department has been shared by the department on the official Twitter handle.#ser #IndianRailways pic.twitter.com/1OfprvvVzZ— South Eastern Railway (@serailwaykol) June 5, 2023
