People gather near the wreckage of the school van that was hit by a train at a level crossing at Semmanguppam in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore on July 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
A three-member team from the Southern Railway headquarters has begun an inquiry into the recent school van-train collision at a manned non-interlocked level crossing gate in Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district.
The manned gate on the Villupuram-Thanjavur mainline section falls under the Tiruchi Railway Division. Railway sources said the team conducted detailed inquiry with field-level railway employees at the Tiruchi Divisional Office on Thursday (July 10, 2025) regarding the accident. The team will examine various factors that caused the accident and the corrective action to be taken to avert such untoward incidents.
Editorial | Death by negligence: On the railway gate accident in Cuddalore
The team has been constituted by the Principal Chief Safety Officer, Southern Railway to go into the full facts and the circumstances that led to the accident which has raised questions pertaining to safety issues.
The team comprising Deputy Chief Safety Officer (Mechanical), Deputy Chief Engineer (Track) and Deputy Chief Operating Manager (Rules and Safety) inspected the accident spot on Wednesday (July 9, 2025).
Upon completion of the inquiry, the team would submit its report to the Principal Chief Safety Officer, Southern Railway. The report would be submitted to the General Manager Southern Railway, the sources further said.
The gatekeeper of level crossing 170 Pankaj Sharma has been arrested by the Government Railway Police, Chidambaram and lodged in the Cuddalore Central Prison. A case under different BNS sections including 106 (causing death by negligence) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with the Railway Act has been booked against the gatekeeper.
Published – July 10, 2025 08:36 pm IST
