Human Error In Bengal Train Accident? What Railway Board Boss Said

Prima facie findings into the Kanchanjunga Express accident in West Bengal show that the goods train violated speed restrictions it had to follow given the "defective" automatic signalling system on the section and rammed into the stationary passenger train while "over-speeding", the Railway Board said on Monday.

Seven passengers and two railway staffers were killed and 41 injured in the accident that occurred on the Ranipatra Railway Station (RNI)-Chattar Hat Junction (CAT) stretch in the state's Darjeeling district in the morning.

The board said though the driver of the goods train was given authorisation to cross all red signals between RNI and CAT as the automatic signalling system was "defective", the train's speed was above the permissible limit prescribed for this kind of a situation.