How cricket match led to deadly Andhra Pradesh train collision in India

Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday revealed the cause of the collision of two passenger trains in India's Andhra Pradesh state in October 2023. Unfortunately, a cricket match was a major reason behind the deadly mishap.

Two passenger trains collided on the Howrah-Chennai line in Vizianagaram district's Kantakapalli on October 29, resulting in the loss of at least 14 lives and around 50 injuries.

As per Wion, three carriages of a stationary train derailed in the collision. 

Vaishnaw, while discussing new safety initiatives by Indian Railways, cited the Andhra train accident revealing that the driver and assistant driver had been engrossed in watching a cricket match on their cell phone which led to the horrific collision.

While speaking to the Press Trust of India, he said: "The recent case in Andhra Pradesh happened because both the loco pilot and co-pilot were distracted by a cricket match.

"Now we are installing systems that can detect any such distraction and make sure that the pilots and the assistant pilots are fully focused on running the train."

According to Wion, the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) has not yet disclosed an investigation report of the incident.

A preliminary probe attributed responsibility to the driver and assistant driver of the Rayagada Passenger train which rammed into the stationary Visakhapatnam Palasa train from behind.

They were found to have violated norms by passing defective auto signals resulting in their deaths.