New Delhi, Nov 13: Following the derailment of the Kolkata-Sairang Express near Guwahati, the Railway Board has asked all its zones to ensure that the running crew conducts a braking test after taking the handover of a train in accordance with the laid-down procedure.
“Additionally, Zonal Railways should conduct a safety drive from 12-11-2026 to 18-11-2026 for checking and ensuring the conduct of brake feel and brake power tests by locomotive crew. Any discrepancies noticed in this regard should be collated and forwarded to the Railway Board by 20-11-2026,” a direction from the board dated November 11 and addressed to all zonal railways said.
A preliminary probe into the derailment of the Kolkata-Sairang Express at Assam’s Digaru railway station on November 11 has pointed to a malfunctioning main braking system on the train.
The six-member probe team found that the system primarily responsible for applying brakes in the coaches, technically known as the BP angle cock, was in an isolated condition in the locomotive.
The probe report does not identify who rendered the braking system dysfunctional or whether the train crew overlooked safety procedures to check its functionality before operating the train.
However, the board’s direction for a mandatory braking test by the running crew after taking the handover of a train points to dereliction of duty on the part of the crew, along with other station staff.
Officials said the board’s direction is a reiteration of existing norms of a braking test, the compliance of which was overlooked in the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailment case.
Under the brake feel test, the train crew first attains a speed of 15 kmph and then apply the brakes by dropping the BP pressure to a certain limit with the help of the train’s main braking system (A-9), reducing its speed to 10 kmph. “The crew should feel the application of brake and speed should drop to about 10 kmph,” the board said.
Under the brake power test, the crew takes the speed to 60-70 kmph in case of a passenger train and 40-50 kmph in case of a goods train, and then drop the BP pressure to a certain limit to bring down the speed to 30 to 35 kmph in a coaching train and 20 to 25 kmph in a goods train.
“The LP (loco pilot) shall observe the effectiveness of brakes and brake power of the train,” the board said.
Highlighting the duty of the assistant loco pilot, it said the ALP “shall keep a watch and ensure that both the tests are done by LP and will remind him for the same, if required”.
“He will equally participate (carefully watch) in the brake feel test and brake power test to assess the effectiveness of the braking system of the train,” the board said.
Speaking on the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailment, sources said when the crew took the handover of the train at Guwahati, due to some miscommunication, the station staff isolated the BP angle cock.
“The train used to halt at Guwahati, where its electric locomotive was routinely replaced with a diesel locomotive. For this purpose, the station staff would isolate the BP angle cock. However, over the last couple of days, following the completion of the route’s electrification, the practice of changing locomotives was discontinued and the electric locomotive began operating the train beyond Guwahati,” an official said.
“However, the staff member responsible for isolating the angle cock was on leave when the locomotive interchange was discontinued. When he resumed duty on November 11, he isolated the angle cock as part of his routine procedure, apparently unaware that the same electric locomotive would continue the journey beyond Guwahati.
“Compounding the problem, the train crew either failed to conduct the mandatory braking tests or, if they did, relied on the alternative braking system (known as regenerative braking) along with the main braking system, A-9,” he added.
The crew may have attempted to use the main braking system while trying to stop the train near the loop line, only to discover that it was dysfunctional, resulting in the derailment, the official said. (PTI)
