Sabarmati-Agra express derailment: Probe says driver overshot red signal

A preliminary probe into the derailment of the SabarmatiAgra Superfast Express near Ajmer has revealed that the loco pilot overshot the red signal after which it collided with two rear wagons of a freight trainFour coaches of the passenger train which was on its way to Agra derailed near the Ajmer station on Monday No loss of life was reported in the incidentThe joint probe report signed by seven experts said that train number 12458 SabarmatiAgra Superfast Express departed from Ajmer at 0050 and while approaching Madar station the driver overshot the red signal and the train collided with two rear wagons of a freight train which was passing through at an intersectioncrossoverDue to this four coaches of the train and its engine derailed causing a huge disruption to the train operations in both updown directions for several hours The report said that no casualty or injuries were caused by the incident though the trains speed at the time of collision was 50 km per hourThe loco pilot too admitted in his submission that before entering the Madar station he saw the first signal in the double yellow position and the second in single yellowThe driver further said that when he saw the third signal in the red position he applied an emergency brake but by the time the train collided with the rear end of the freight trainAccording to experts a driver as per the norm has to apply brakes when he gets the first signal in double yellow position as the train takes time to stop after covering about 500 to 600metre distance due to its momentumThe first signal in the double yellow position is an indication to the driver that he has to apply the brake as there is an obstruction on the track ahead In such a situation the next signal is kept yellow and the third one is red a retired loco pilot saidHe added The driver in his version to the joint report committee has admitted that he saw the first signal in double yellow position But he hasnt specified why he didnt apply the brake thenLoco pilots said that overshooting a red signal also called Signal Passed At Danger or SPAD occurs when drivers lose focus and indulge in other activitiesSometimes drivers doze off too due to fatigue and SPAD occurs There are cases in which mental stress or family issues bog their mind so much that they miss signals a loco pilot said requesting anonymityThough the assistant loco pilots job is to alert the loco pilot about all these things but sometimes despite that SPAD happens when drivers go absentminded he addedThe SPAD report in this case suggests that the driver was living alone away from his familyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever