Manual bypass of track signal in Odisha train crash done to get around signalling hurdles: Report

An official probe into India's rail crash is focusing on suspected manual bypassing of an automated signalling system that guides train movement - an action investigators believe sent a packed express train into a stationary freight train, three Indian Railways sources told Reuters. If the barrier was open, the automated signal system would not allow a train to go past the rail-road crossing, one retired Indian Railways official said. SYSTEM “CHANGED MANUALLY” One of the three Indian Railways sources - all of whom had knowledge of the ongoing CRS probe - said initial investigation suggests the automatic electronic signalling system was “changed manually, for which the software has to be tampered with”. " Read Here: Injured migrant workers face uncertain future after Balasore train accident The CRS findings now suggest that the system, which Sinha said is supposed to be “fail-safe”, had been compromised by workers trying to find a workaround, the third Indian Railways source said.