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Unanimous opinion that Kadalundi bridge was well beyond its 'expiry date'

Commissioner for Railway Safety Pranab Kumar Sen, who will hold a two-day enquiry in Calicut beginning Tuesday into the cause of the Kadalundi train mishap that claimed 48 lives, is certain to face a barrage of questions from passengers and locals alike.

Sen will hold a detailed inquiry later.

Though theories about the cause of the mishap vary, everyone, including experts, agrees on one issue: that the bridge, a portion of which collapsed, was well beyond its 'expiry date'.

Even a cursory look at the bridge, built by the British around 120 years ago, would convince anyone that it cannot take the burden of over 20 trains screaming past every single day.

Local fishermen say water used to turn muddy when a train crossed the bridge.

Local residents complain that the matter had been intimated to railway officials, whose inspectors found the pier, which gave away on Friday apparently causing Friday's mishap, to be strong enough.

A few experts linked the tragedy with the recent phenomenon of 'collapsing wells' seen in some parts of Kerala due to variance in groundwater pressure. Several wells had recently 'disappeared' into the earth causing alarm.

Union Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh, while talking to reporters, also did not discount the possibility of a linkage between the two as the pier of the bridge had sunk deep into the earth.

One of the piers of the bridge had sunk as much as 1.4 metres into the mud resulting in the collapse of a 90 metre portion of the rail bridge.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief E Sreedharan said this aspect should also be studied. He told a Malayalam daily that bridges constructed using cast iron, like the one in Kadalundi, did not have a life beyond 90 years and periodical inspection was essential to ensure safety of operations.

Passengers and local residents, apprehensive about any stop gap arrangements by railway authorities to prop up the bridge, are keeping a wary watch on the developments.

PTI

The Complete Coverage: The Kerala train mishap

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