No action against the driver, the railways not at fault, says MoS Manoj Sinha

State Minister of Railways Manoj Sinha on Saturday ruled out any punitive action against the train driver who mowed the Dussehra revelers in Amritsar, saying that there was no negligence of the from the national carrier and also advised people not to organize such events near rail tracks.

The accident killed 59 people and 39 bodies were identified by the authorities.

The railways claimed that they were not at fault because they had no idea of ​​the Dussehra event.

"The incident is not the fault of the railways, there was no fault on our part and no action will be taken against the driver." People should refrain from organizing such events near the tracks.I think that if precautions had been taken, the accident could have been avoided, "he said, adding that, whenever such events were unfolding, the l 39; the district administration concerned gave permission.

However, the regulatory investigation by the Railway Safety Commission, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, will be conducted in accordance with the standards in force.

The minister said that drivers were given specific instructions on where to slow down the train. "There was a curve." The driver would not have seen .What should we order an investigation on? "Trains run only at high speed," Sinha said at the request of a driver investigation. .

Asked about the opposition's attack by former deputy Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the main guest at the Dussehra ceremony, Sinha said no one should be doing politics on this issue. "It's a tragic incident."

Vivek Kumar, head of the Divisional Railways in Ferozpur, said the driver had been questioned but no misconduct had been found. He said that while the train was traveling at a speed of 91 km / h, but after spotting the crowd on the track, it slowed down to 68 km / h before the first impact.

"People invaded the railroad tracks when the incident happened, because of the darkness and the sound of firecrackers, people could not hear the sound of the train. driver did not see the crowd earlier because there was a curve, brakes and minimizes the speed of the train at 90 km / h, but it takes time to stop the train, "he said. .

During the interrogation, the driver also stated that he had tried to stop the train but that he had not succeeded.

Earlier, Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the Railway Board, said the accident had occurred between two stations – Amritsar and Manawala – and not at a railway crossing.

"In the center, the trains run at the speed assigned to them and no one should be on the track.In the center, there is no railway employee. Crossings whose task is to regulate traffic, "he explained, explaining why the railways have not been alerted about the congregation by his staff.

He said the guard was 400 meters away at a crossing. He also said that if the driver had applied the emergency brakes, the tragedy could have been more serious.

The train was traveling at its speed and initial reports suggest that the driver braked and the train slowed down, he said.

"There was no information and no permission was required of us." The event (Dussehra) took place at a location adjacent to the railway on private property, "he said.