Watch: Passenger trains pass through Odisha train accident site after track restoration

The first high-speed passenger train - Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat Express - passed through the Balasore accident site on Monday morning on restored tracks as the Commissioner of Railwy Safety began its inquiry into the June 2 accident in which at least 275 people were killed. Vande Bharat Express crossed the Bahanaga Bazar Station around 9:30 am on Monday, officials said, adding that the tracks are now fit to operate trains in both the up and down lines.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was present at the accident site and waved to the drivers when the semi-high-speed train passed through, officials said. Two other passenger trains Howrah-Puri Express and Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express also passed through the up and down lines respectively early on Monday. The restoration work of both the up line and down line tracks was completed on Sunday night, Vaishnaw said.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Railway Safety(SE Circle) Shailesh Kumar Pathak launched the inquiry and visited the accident site at Bahanaga Station Bazar Station. He also inspected the control room, signal room, spoke to the station manager, and saw the interlinking system that reportedly led the Coromandel Express to enter the loop line, leading to a devastating crash on June 2. "We have just started the inquiry. It will take time. The exact cause of the accident will be ascertained after the inquiry is over," Pathak told reporters at the accident site.