'Technical faults and human error caused Kalka mishap'

According to the report, there was a gap of ‘1mm' in the joints of the track, when the ill-fated Kalka Mail arrived at a speed of 108 kmph.

“Normally the signal should have turned red when there was a gap at the joints but in this case the signal remained green'', the report, which was submitted on Wednesday, reportedly said. It added that the technical fault should have been noticed and corrected before allowing the train to pass but it did not happen.   

The driver of the train had also said that he had experienced severe jolts just as the train approached the Malwa station indicating that something must have been wrong with the tracks. Some local staff had also then said that they had also detected a gap between the tracks. Chief Railway Safety Commissioner, Prashant Kumar had conducted the statutory
inquiry into the derailment. The final report would be submitted in six months.

70 people had died and over 200 others injured in the deadly train mishap, which occurred when the train was on its way to Kalka from Howrah. As many as 15 compartments, including the AC coaches, had derailed. Some coaches had piled onto the others a result of which the passengers in some of the bogies had extricated after cutting the compartments.