Action against rly staffers punished for in Sainthia accident

KOLKATA: Will the probe into the Sainthia rail disaster go the Gaisal way? More than a year after the accident at Sainthia station in Birbhum in which 66 people lost their lives, the railways have taken disciplinary action against Somnath Sengupta, guard of the Sealdah-bound Uttar Banga Express that slammed into the stationery Vananchal Express from behind. While Sengupta stands to lose four increments and his seniority, Sainthia cabin master Motor Let may even lose his job for failing to divert the Uttar Banga Express to another track.
Experts, however, said that this was is nothing more than an eyewash since neither the railways nor the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has managed to come up with the actual sequence of events. Immediately after the accident in the wee hours of July 19, 2010, there had been allegations of sabotage. Later, the CRS had stated in his report that he was 'intrigued' with the behaviour of the drivers of the Uttar Banga Express who drove the train into Sainthia at breakneck speed. Both the drivers were killed in the accident and it will never be known why they behaved in this extra-ordinary manner. as the train had a scheduled stop at Sainthia.
The Gaisal accident on August 2, 1999, resulted in the death of 285 people. Though punitive action was taken against some railway staff, it is still not known how the Brahmaputra Mail travelled for several km along a wrong track and collided with the stationery Assam Awadh Express.
After the Sainthia accident, members of the Railway Board claimed that there was nothing wrong with the signaling but experts had differed. They had pointed to the fact that it is physically possible to tamper with signals and signaling staff at times resort to this in an attempt to speed up the entire process of receiving a train at a station. This happens as the panel doesn't allow a home signal to turn green till the train that left the platform has passed the advanced starter signal. The Vananchal Express had received a signal to leave the platform but had stopped due to a signal from its guard - who was among the victims.
There are Some who believe that those in charge at Sainthia allowed the home signal of the platform to turn green on the false notion that the Vananchal Express had left. After the CRS inquiry indicted the two drivers of the Uttar Banga Express, their colleagues and family members expressed their displeasure and pointed out that there was no reason for them to behave in this suicidal manner. Particularly so because they were quite senior and had made an unscheduled stop at a red signal in Gadadharpur, the station before Sainthia.
"There are several unanswered questions no doubt but one thing is certain. The accident occurred due to human negligence and not sabotage or material failure," an official said.