He pointed out that Form T/A 912, a manual authorization chit or a paper line clear ticket, was “mistakenly” issued to loco pilots of both freight and express trains in the absence of a functional automatic signaling system. The chute allowed the freight train to pass without slowing down, resulting in an accident that killed 10 people.
The question of loco pilot exceeding the limits of a freight train Speed limit Officials said that T/A 912 does not need to specify the speed, the option to limit the speed to 25 kmph is different – form T/D 912.
The thesis till Tuesday, reiterated by Railway Board Chairperson and CEO Jaya Verma Sinha and CPROs of at least two railway zones, was that the dead loco pilot of the freight train violated signals and speed limits. “Ignored”. It was assumed that the freight train was traveling at about three times the speed of 15 kmph.
Current and former railway officials TOI spoke to on Wednesday suggested that the root of the problem was possibly signalling. He also questioned the correctness of the rules officially quoted from the Indian Railways General and Subsidiary Rules Book (2004 edition). The officials reiterated that there should be no speed restriction in Form T/A 912 as no train other than the train receiving this manual is authorized to cross the rail section during this time.
Signal failure.
“The maximum speed limit is mentioned only when work is in progress on the tracks in a particular section. permissionAn official said. “This speed restriction is being cited when the automatic signals are operating as normal and the red signal is on.”
When a loco pilot sees a signal with a single yellow light, he has to stop accelerating. If the next signal has two yellow lights, the speed is controlled or reduced. The train is then brought to a complete stop at the red signal.
A train has to wait for one minute during the day and two minutes at night before proceeding at the signal at a speed of 10kmph-15kmph, depending on visibility. “When the rear of another train comes into view, the train has to stop at least 150 meters ahead,” the official said.
This is as per the SOP mentioned in the G&SR book and is prominently displayed on a board in the cabin crew lobby of New Jalpaiguri station, near which Monday's accident took place.
If a signaling failure occurs, the SOP is different. “In this case, a loco pilot can proceed only when a station master issues permission through form T/A 912. This paper signal is issued only when there is no train in the block ahead,” Amit said. Ghosh, Assistant General Secretary said. of All India Railwaymen Federation.
“When a loco driver gets this form, he can go to the end of the block at normal speed. That's exactly what the loco driver of the freight train was doing. He has no idea of the presence of the Kanchan Jhanga Express ahead. The track had to be cleared till Chatterhot station.
Standard practice for two station masters at either end of the stretch is to confirm that there are no trains on the section and share a two-three-digit private number, similar to an OTP, which is then logged at both locations. is recorded in the book. Stations Only then is a new permission issued to another train to proceed through the section.
This was confirmed by loco pilots of South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway. The station master at Rangapani had issued T/A 912 to the loco pilots of both the trains. At 8.20 am the form given to the pilot of the Kanchan Jhanga Express bearing number 4,917 allowed the train to proceed to Chitrahat bypassing the nine signals mentioned in the note. The note asked the loco pilot to proceed through all level crossings after ensuring that the gates are closed. The Rangapani station master also allowed the freight train to proceed to Chitharhat (T/A 912, Serial No. 4,918) at 8.35 am, when the express train was barely 2.5 km away from the 14 km distance between Rangapani and Chitharhat.
TOI has copies of both the forms. “How did the station master allow the loco pilot of the goods train without getting clearance from the station master at Chitrahat? During a signal failure no train is allowed to pass through the block section unless another train passes through that section. Don't pass.” official
Signaling was introduced on the section where the accident occurred only seven months ago. Subsequently (on 10 November 2023) the NF Railway edition of the G&SR book was amended.