The cause of Friday’s crash remains unclear, but senior state railway officials suspected to have been caused by a traffic signaling failure.
The death toll in the three-train accident at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore rose to 275 on Saturday .It is indicated that the huge train accident in Balasore was caused as a result of sabotage. The signaling system had been "manipulated remotely, which led to the Coromandel Express receiving a green signal to proceed on a track where though a goods train was already present. As the signaling system is automated, it is suspected that there is external interference, too. The Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnav stated on Sunday that the root cause of the incident and the individuals responsible for it have been identified. The electronic interlocking system has been changed and the focus is on the restoration process. The minister also said that he is eagerly waiting the report from the commissioner of railway safety .As per the Indian Railways, the electronic Interlocking (EI) system is an advanced interlocking system that utilizes microprocessors to interpret the inputs from the yard and panel. It has those inputs in a fail-safe manner, followed by the selection table, and generates the necessary output. This system also serves as an alternative to the general Relay Interlocking system (PI & RRI).
The PM , Narendra Modi visited the spot to give his condolences to the victims of the accident. “We can’t bring back those we have lost but the government is with them (families) in their grief. This incident is very serious for the government … Whoever is found guilty will be punished severely,” Modi said, adding that the government would “leave no stone unturned.”