HYDERABAD: Ten months before seven coaches of the Repalle-Secunderabad Delta Fast Passenger were washed away killing 114 passengers in October, the Railway Accidents Enquiry Report had recommended measures to prevent train derailments due to flash floods. But, these recommendations, made in January, were never implemented.

The need to develop some electronic device to assess the flood level at vulnerable bridges and connecting them with signals of approaching stations to avoid posting of stationary watchmen on such bridges was recommended.

The recommendations were made by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) after an enquiry into the derailment of 7234 Sirpur Kagaznagar-Secunderabad (Bhagyanagar) Express while crossing a bridge due to flash floods between Asifabad Road and Repalliwada stations on August 28, 2000. The engine and five coaches had capsized but no casualties were reported.

Major accident

In fact, 35 such signals were installed, following another CRS report after some coaches of the Hyderabad-Nizamuddin Dakshin Express were washed away between Mancherial and Mandamarri stations on July 9, 1987, following flash floods. The functioning of the signals was hampered by theft, miscreant activity and unreliability of the solar system during cloudy weather.

Undermining of the foundation, tilting and damage to two piers on the bridge as a result of floods combined with the breach of a poorly maintained Railway Affecting Tank (RAT) in the vicinity were cited as causes of the Bhagyanagar Express accident.

Onus on States

"Regular inspection and maintenance of RAT should be ensured by the State Governments," the report said, noting that the Railways should pursue regular receipt of inspection reports and their subsequent maintenance at higher levels of Government, such as meetings of State Committee of Engineers.

Compliance of inspection notes and adequacy of funds should be given maximum importance in all dealings with State Governments by the Railways regarding the safety of RAT, the report added. If the tank was not repaired and was a threat to the bridge, the report suggested, it be declared vulnerable and a watchman posted during monsoon.

`Vexing problems'

Referring to the Bhagyanagar Express mishap, it noted that "the unsafe conditions on the bridge were created due to inaccurate calculations of design discharge, scour and design depth of the foundation." The report said disregard for instructions for monsoon patrolling, posting of stationary watchmen and introduction of only need-based patrolling -- a concept unknown to the Railways -- which was violative of the instructions issued on monsoon patrolling, led to the accident.

It went to the extent of stating that the Railways had not bothered to solve the "vexing" problems of manpower shortage, unsuitability of women for gangmen work, including track patrolling, and large-scale absenteeism.

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