On Saturday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the driver and assistant driver of one of the trains. That crashed in Andhra Pradesh on October 29, 2023, were watching cricket on their phones. The accident happened at around 7 PM on the Howrah-Chennai line in Kantakapalli, Vizianagaram district. The collision caused 13 deaths and 50 injuries.
Vaishnaw explained to the news agency PTI that the distraction caused the accident. He mentioned plans to install systems to detect distractions and ensure focus on driving.
He also emphasized the importance of safety and investigating the root causes of accidents to prevent future occurrences.
The Commissioners of Railway Safety (CRS) conducted an investigation, but their report is not yet public. A preliminary report by the railway stated that the Rayadaga Passenger train crew caused the accident by passing two faulty signals. On October 29th, a tragic accident occurred in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district, where two passenger trains collided, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 passengers. Numerous others were injured in the incident. The collision happened when a passenger train traveling from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada derailed after crashing into another train in the Vizianagaram district.