Pothuhera train mishap :

Who is at fault?

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)or formerly known as the Ceylon Government Railway was the prime mode of transport since its inception in 1858. With 310 trains operating including 45 long distance and 12 intercity, the SLR transports nearly 300, 000 commuters a day on the 1, 429 kilometre long- tracks spread throughout the country.

The ill-fated train

The halted train almost turned turtle on impact

With an estimated revenue of over Rs.4.2 billion a year, public expectations of a safe journey should be high but is it really so?

Although there was right royal awe for this heavy mode of transport during the colonial period and even in latter times, the present attitude is rather poor. The reason for this can be attributed to the inconvenience faced by commuters on the one hand because of the less number of trains and the large mass of humanity that patronises the train service travelling daily to and fro to work and back in packed compartments like sardines. On the other hand, the constant unexpected delays which lead to late arrival at work places as well as the numerous strikes called for by trade unions has caused a disgusting impression among the public towards this once trusted service.

However, creating the latest fear on top of all these shortcomings is that the department is fast losing credibility of rendering a safe and sound journey to commuters with the recent mishap which left several dozen commuters injured and some critically. Although accidents could happen anywhere and at any moment, the modus operandi of the railway authorities in trying to cover up its faults by passing the buck is indeed appalling. Whether its a signal error and a technical error of communication or a disregard of specific operating guidelines of a train or perhaps both, there is no bigger blunder than a train with a full complement of passengers ramming head on onto another parked train. This is is unforgivable to say the least.

All the high-ups including the General Manager Railways B A P Ariyaratne led by Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama arrived at the scene in next to no time and pledged an immediate impartial inquiry into the case to investigate what went wrong.

As a result five people who were identified as being directly responsible for the accident including the Station Master and the Signalman of the Pothuhera Railway Station, the guard, the driver and the assistant of the Deyata Kirula train were interdicted with immediate effect. A four- member committee led by Additional General Manager Operations, Nalaka Bandara was appointed on Thursday.

The committee convened on Friday and commenced investigations. Statements of the Pothuhera Station Master and the Head Guard of the Deyata Kirula Train gave statements.

The committee is yet to question the signalman, the train driver and his assistant. The latter two are still being treated at the Kurunegala and Colombo National Hospitals and are said to be in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, there is suspicion about the absence of another vital ' character' who has to be on the train- the Under Guard who had not reported to work over illness.

It is a serious violation of railway laws and regulations by not deploying an Under Guard for the train and sending it on its journey. According to the law any passenger train which has more than eight compartments had to be deployed with two guards, the Head Guard at the rear in the Last Van and the Under Guard in one of the two connecting dummy engines.

A regular train has six compartments including the engine. Long distance trains like the Deyata Kirula are coupled with two regular trains which altogether has 12 carriages. Due to the length of these coupled trains it is mandatory to deploy an Under Guard in the centre who can have a better view of an approaching hazard and thus is able to apply the brakes in the event some mishap is about to take place. Since it is too long for the Head Guard to notice such danger at once from the position where he is.

Controversy surrounds the statement made by many 'parties' of the department that the damage and the number of casualties could have been minimized or even averted if the Under Guard was on board to apply brakes along with the Driver at the front applying brakes.

It would have reduced the huge impact rendered by the long train. But to the surprise of many, this issue never surfaced or it was deliberately swept under the carpet by the railway authorities, who instead argue on the other issues like drivers failing to control the speed of the train, a suspected fault in the signalling system and track changing unit of the Pothuhera Station.The Sunday Observer learns that a Deputy Operational Superintendent who was on duty on Wednesday morning had permitted the Deyata Kirula train to proceed without an Under Guard on board.

When investigated what triggered the officials to let a coupled passenger train to proceed by not even replacing with another Guard, we learnt that there is a severe dearth of Guards in the department at present. Around 280 vacancies for both Guards and Under Guards had not been fulfilled for many months and the train was operating against the set guidelines for safety.

It is also learnt that the recruitment of more Guards had not been successful as the guards who were already there are not happy because it will be a loss on overtime hours. General Manager Railways B A P Ariyaratne admitting the shortage of guards at present said if the authorities are to abide by the laws set out by the Railways Ordinance, then many trains will have to be cancelled everyday. It has become practically impossible to deploy two guards on a train due to the shortage of guards. Therefore, it is not only the Under Guard's responsibility to control the situation but the Head Guard and the driver who should be aware of any unexpected emergency.

Although stationed at the rear, the Head Guard too could control the train and its speed from the rear by merely studying the landmarks of the ground when approaching a station.

There is a specific speed that a train must maintain when approaching a station, whether it is a slow train or an express one. Under normal circumstances the speed limit for trains is 80 kilometres per hour, whereas the Deyata Kirula and Yal Devi trains can exceed 100kmph after Anuradhapura to maintain the time schedule. But all trains have to reduce speed to 15kmph when approaching a station and in this instance the speed it was travelling was excessive. Locomotives do possess a Black Box like all air planes that could record the speed the train was travelling at to the specific second. Initial investigations revealed that the train that rammed into the parked Raja Rata Rejina train was travelling at 55kmph, which is a high speed. Investigations are being conducted as to why the train was travelling at such a high speed even when approaching a station.

Train drivers have a different story.

The driver of the No 17 Deyata Kirula train, Ajith Rupasinghe who is currently being treated at the National Hospital with serious injuries to his head and neck said the effort they had to put to bring a train that was already signalled to proceed, to a standstill within a very short distance was immense.

With an experienced career of 23 years as a locomotive driver, this was the first accident faced by Rupasinghe. With his assistant on the left seat inside the engine, the train left Colombo at 6.50am and had to pick up a batch of passengers from a train that had broken down on the way. When they were approaching Pothuhera the first signal post had approved to proceed which they did. But to their utter horror when the station was within visible distance fter a sharp bend there was a train parked on the same tracks. He applied the brakes but it was too late as the train did not stop until they jumped out of their seats and rushed to the rear of the engine to save their lives.

The train that crashed into the other train caused serious damage to the front portion of the train and the driver and his assistant had a narrow shave. Rupasinghe who is relieved that there is not a single death in the accident was hesitant to comment much on the technical side as there was an inquiry pending.

When the drivers are claiming that the signal was given to proceed, the railway authorities at the Pothuhera station say that the signal had not been approved for the oncoming train to pass. It is too early to surmise and come to any conclusion as to what really led to the unfortunate accident. Over thirty passengers still being treated at the Kurunegala Hospital.

Sri Lanka Railways with a vision "To be the most sought after land transport provider in Sri Lanka, providing unsurpassed value to our stakeholders" and a with a mission of "Providing safe, reliable and punctual rail transport service for both passenger and freight traffic, economically and efficiently".

These are the slogans mouthed by the Railway Department but in reality there is a yaw3ning gap between the operation of the trains and these slogans. It is high time the Department considers that safety of passengers was paramount and prevent such glaring blunders from taking place. much on the safety of its commuters in the future leaving no room for such blunders.