Southern Railway says viewing distance was not enough to apply brakes to prevent accident
A curve ahead of the accident site in the Walayar-Ettimdai section of Palghat division where three elephants died when they were hit by the Mangaluru-Chennai Express on Friday night, affecting visibility, prompting loco pilots to apply emergency braking after seeing the animals on the track. It got difficult. ,
Although there was no rain or fog, a turn ahead of the accident site made it difficult for the loco pilots to notice the elephants crossing the railway track and stopped the train before hitting it. Southern Railway spokesperson and chief public relations officer B. “Because of the curve, the viewing distance was not enough to apply the brakes to avoid such an incident,” said Guggenson. Hindu on Tuesday.
The scene of the accident was a designated elephant route where there was a speed restriction on the A-line for about 15 km. The loco pilots were told that the train was driven within the stipulated 45 kmph, he said.
When asked whether foot patrolling was done in the section, the official said that there was no night patrolling since the monsoon patrolling ended on October 15, 2021. On the measures being taken to prevent recurrence of such accidents, Mr. Guggenson jointly consulted for Loco Pilots. The elephant movement pattern in the crew depot was being planned with the forest officials.
Forest officials probing the circumstances leading to the incident have seized the speedometer chip from the locomotive. Though no search and seizure report had been submitted to the authorities concerned, there was no formal communication yet on registration of cases against loco pilots or confiscation of speedometer chip from the locomotive, a senior official said. That is the expert support of Railway authorities. The chip was required to decode and access the data.
Two loco pilots – MT Subair and MC Akhil – were booked under the provisions of section 9 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which deals with hunting of wild animals. He said that though the Act provides for the search, arrest and detention of an authorized officer, the procedure was to be prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure such as conducting a search in the presence of two independent witnesses, preparation of a list of confiscated articles. while handing over the copy of the search details to the occupier of the place. “We have come to know that a case is being registered against the loco pilots under the Wildlife (Protection) Act,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has directed its loco pilots operating trains in the Walayar-Ettimdai section of Palghat division to repeatedly sound the horn in the stretches known for elephant crossings. If movement of elephants is noticed, the loco pilot should immediately reduce the speed and stop the train of elephants until they have completely crossed the track. If they saw movement of elephants along the track, they were asked to report it to the nearest station master.
subway for elephants
V. Balachandran, president of the All India Loco Running Staff Association, said blowing the horn was not an effective solution as animals like elephants, buffaloes etc. were known to not move out of the track area with this incentive. Low-speed trains were also not a foolproof mechanism as it would be difficult to stop the train completely if elephants were sighted at short distances.
No purpose will be served by registering cases against loco pilots and instead the authorities should consider building a subway for safe passage of elephants in areas known for their regular movement.