Jalgaon Pushpak Express accident: Why did it happen, are there only two reasons?
#News Bureau January 23,2025
Thirteen passengers were killed when the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express fell on tracks and was crushed by the Karnataka Express following rumours of a fire. The incident took place around 5 pm on Wednesday between Maheji and Pardhane stations near Pachora. Passengers in the general coach jumped onto adjacent tracks following rumours of a fire and were crushed by the Karnataka Express, which was coming from the opposite direction, officials said. The death toll in the Jalgaon train accident rose to 13 on Thursday, with police confirming that eight victims have been identified. Only two reasons are emerging for the accident. Railway officials said the Karnataka Express driver may have been unable to see the tracks due to the curve of the track and fog, as the Pushpak Express had come to a halt due to chain pulling. However, Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil said the rumours of a fire were baseless as the railways confirmed there was no fire.
Railway Safety Commissioner (CRS) Central Circle has started investigation into the causes of the accident. CRS, Manoj Arora, will visit the accident site to investigate the causes and circumstances of the incident. The biggest question right now is- after the rumour, the passengers pulled the chain. The pilot of Pushpak Express switched on the flash light to signal the driver of Karnataka Express. But then Karnataka Express did not stop and it came rushing on the crooked track. It is being said that there was fog, so the driver of Karnataka Express could not see the crooked track. So was the flash light of Pushpak Express so weak that it was not visible to the other train in the fog? Only when the answer to this question is found, the real reason of the accident will be revealed.
This is the first major accident this year (2025). In 2023-24, there were 40 rail accidents in India. But instead of giving data on how many accidents have reduced since 2014, the Railway Minister said that the number of accidents in 2023-24 is 473 less than the number of accidents in 2000-01. However, there were several major rail accidents in 2024, including derailments, collisions and signal failures. 313 passengers and four employees were killed in 40 train accidents in 2023-24.
In the name of preventing accidents, the government says that the railways are spending crores of rupees on replacing or repairing old railway tracks, running new trains and removing thousands of railway crossings. However, no one knows when this work will end, when the accidents will stop. Yes, people’s rail travel is becoming expensive. The public definitely knows this.
Who is responsible for the accidents: 11 railway organizations and central trade unions say that the central government, its ministers and other high-ranking officials should take responsibility for all preventable rail accidents. The organizations say that the government should stop “violation of safety norms and procedures”. They have pointed out major shortcomings in the railways which may be responsible for the incidents.
In fact, the government is not serious about safety in the railways. The trade unions said that all the vacant security category jobs in the Indian Railways should be filled immediately. On the increase in train accidents, Railway Minister Vaishnav claimed that such incidents have decreased significantly since the Narendra Modi government came to power. A decade ago, India had an average of 171 accidents per year. Today, this figure has fallen to 40 annually, showing substantial improvement.
It is important to mention here that the government had declared many major accidents that happened in 2024 as a conspiracy. But no information was given about what steps were taken after the alleged conspiracy was exposed so that no one could conspire in the future. However, it was even said that the rail accidents of 2024 were carried out through a coordinated effort. Especially the derailment of trains was also put in the category of conspiracy.