After inspecting the place of the Balasore train accident, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the root cause of this accident has been identified and the restoration work will be completed by Wednesday.

Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the restoration work at the site in Balasore, Odisha, where the tragic train accident took place on Friday evening. The Railways Minister said that the officials of the Railway department have found out the cause of the accident, which happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.

“The root cause of this accident has been identified. PM Modi inspected the site yesterday. We will try to restore the track today. All bodies have been removed. Our target is to finish the restoration work by Wednesday morning so that trains can start running on this track,” ANI quoted Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as saying.

Regarding the cause of the accident, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The commissioner of railway safety has investigated the matter and let the investigation report come but we have identified the cause of the incident and the people responsible for it… It happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. Right now our focus is on restoration.”

On Friday, 21 coaches of the Coromandel Express and SMVT-Howrah Super Fast Express derailed, leading to one of the worst railway accidents in the country in over two decades. In a bulletin, the SE Railway said, “Train number 12841 Shalimar-Chennai, Coromandel Express and Train number 12864 Sir M Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express got derailed near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station at around 6.55 p.m. on June 2. The Railways Minister slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee, who said that anti-collision was not fitted in the express trains which led to the mishap. Ashwini Vaishnaw added, “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to change in electronic interlocking.”

The Railways Minister slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee, who said that anti-collision was not fitted in the express trains which led to the mishap. Ashwini Vaishnaw added, “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to change in electronic interlocking.”