What is the cause of Andhra Pradesh Train Accident?

At least 13 people were killed and 54 others injured when two passenger trains collided in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district on Sunday evening. The Andhra Pradesh train accident was caused by human error. The driver of the Rayagada passenger train missed a red signal.

The accident occurred when the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger special (08504) rammed into the rear of the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger (08532), which had stopped on the tracks due to a break in an overhead cable.

Cause of Andhra Pradesh Train Accident

A preliminary investigation by the railway authorities has found that human error and signal violation were the main causes of the collision.

Biswajit Sahu, Chief Public Relations Officer of East Coast Railway while speaking to NDTV stated that the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the Rayagada-bound train had “overshot the signal” and failed to stop at a safe distance from the Palasa-bound train. Both the loco pilots were among those who died in the accident.

"The driver of the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train was responsible for the accident, as he overshot a signal and hit the rear end of the Palasa train. The driver of the Rayagada train was also killed in the accident," said  Biswajit Sahu, Chief Public Relations Officer at East Coast Railways.

The impact of the collision caused four coaches of the second train to derail and fall on the adjacent track. The rescue and relief operations were carried out by hundreds of emergency workers, who used cranes, cutters and gas torches to clear the wreckage and pull out the trapped passengers. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals, where four of them are said to be in critical condition.

Union Railways Minister expressed condolences

Union Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw expressed his condolences and said he was in touch with the railway officials and local authorities.

The accident has disrupted the rail traffic on the route, with 33 trains being cancelled and 22 others being diverted. The railway officials expect the affected track to be cleared for traffic by Monday evening.

"Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock over the tragic train crash, directed the officials to pay a compensation of ₹ 10 lakh each to the family members of the victims and ₹ 2 lakh each to the injured.

The state has announced the compensation. He also announced a compensation of ₹ 2 lakh each to the family of those who lost their lives and ₹ 50,000 each for those injured by other states, according to an official release.

The accident has raised questions about the safety and maintenance of the railway infrastructure in India, which has witnessed several rail accidents in recent years. The worst rail accident in India’s history occurred in June this year, when three trains collided in Odisha’s Balasore district, killing 292 people and injuring thousands more.

List of trains that have been cancelled

Train No.	Train Name	Origin	Destination	Status
08527	Raipur- Visakhapatnam Passenger	Raipur	Visakhapatnam	Cancelled
08528	Visakhapatnam- Raipur Passenger	Visakhapatnam	Raipur	Cancelled
08532	Palasa-Visakhapatnam Special	Palasa	Visakhapatnam	Cancelled
08531	Visakhapatnam-Korba Express	Visakhapatnam	Korba	Cancelled
08533	Palasa-Visakhapatnam Special	Palasa	Visakhapatnam	Cancelled
08534	Visakhapatnam-Paradeep Express	Visakhapatnam	Paradeep	Cancelled
08535	Paradeep-Visakhapatnam Express	Paradeep	Visakhapatnam	Cancelled
08536	Korba-Visakhapatnam Express	Korba	Visakhapatnam	Cancelled
08504	Rayagada-Visakhapatnam Passenger Special	Rayagada	Visakhapatnam	Diverted via Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram, Rayagada
08503	Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam Special	Vizianagaram	Visakhapatnam	Diverted via Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram, Rayagada
08537	Visakhapatnam-Gunupur Special	Visakhapatnam	Gunupur	Diverted via Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram, Rayagada
08538	Gunupur-Visakhapatnam Special	Gunupur	Visakhapatnam	Diverted via Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvatipuram, Rayagada

List of trains that have been short-terminated

Train No.	Train Name	Short-Terminated at	Short Originating from	Remarks
20809	Sambalpur-Nanded	Vizianagaram	Sambalpur
17479	Puri-Tirupati Express	Balugaon	Puri
07468	Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram	Pendurthi	Visakhapatnam
11019	CST Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Konark Express	Visakhapatnam	CST Mumbai
11020	Bhubaneswar-CST Mumbai	CST Mumbai	Visakhapatnam
	Puri-Chennai Express	Palasa	Puri	Will return as a Passenger Special to Puri
	Yesvantpur-Puri Express	Visakhapatnam		Will remain cancelled from Visakhapatnam to Puri
	Tirupati-Bhubaneswar Express	Visakhapatnam		Will remain cancelled from Visakhapatnam to Bhubaneswar

List of trains that will be diverted

Train No.	Train Name	Departure Station	Diversion Details
03357	Baruni-Coimbatore Special Express	Barauni	Diverted, specific diversion details not provided
18189	Tata-Ernakulam Express	Tata	Diverted, specific diversion details not provided
11020	Bhubaneswar-CST Mumbai-Konark Express	Bhubaneswar	Diverted, specific diversion details not provided
12703	Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express	Howrah	Diverted, specific diversion details not provided
12245	Howrah-SVM Bangalore Duronto Express	Howrah	Diverted, specific diversion details not provided

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