The deceased have been identified as Ravi Prapeka from Burja village and Jahruddin from Assam.
According to sources, the mishap occurred in the under-construction tunnel number-2 under Laxmipur block in Koraput district during the doubling of railway line in the section.
The bodies of the two deceased have been sent to Laxmipur hospital and the local police have reached the spot to initiate an investigation into the matter, sources added.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased have demanded compensation and raised questions over safety measures followed by the private company engaged in the construction work.
According to information, a provision to equip all divisions with advanced simulators at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore (close to $54 million) for training loco pilots has been made under Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh for providing simulator-based training of crew across Indian Railways in the budget for 2018-19.
Locomotive pilots and assistant locomotive pilots are key frontline staff of the Railways and play a crucial role in train operations and safety.
Globally, simulator-based training is emerging as a critical component of crew training as this helps improve driving proficiency by providing training in a real-life environment and exposing trainees to unusual occurrences.
Over 12,000 electric and diesel locomotives daily run on the 66,000 km network across the country. There are about 86,000 train drivers in the Railways.
"The aim is to enhance the learning experience of the crew and improve their productivity and driving skills with regard to aspects like train dynamics and handling, dealing with unusual and hazardous events, route learning, economical fuel efficient driving and safe operations," a senior Railway Ministry official said.
Currently there are seven electric and nine diesel loco simulators in operation in different divisions while 17 more electric and diesel cab simulators are in the process of induction.
"It has been decided to have advanced simulators in every division so that drivers do not have to travel to other divisions for training," the official said, adding it will save time and improve productivity.
All divisions will now have the facility for simulation-based training for locomotive crew through a mix of full-cab, motion-based simulators, networked desktop simulators and computer graphic imagery of important rail sections.
"We are planning to modernise the crew training infrastructure across the network by extensively using computer modeling, simulation, digital and 3D technologies and interactive knowledge based training and assessment tools," official said.
The Railways had carried out a study of simulator-based training being imparted by operators in the US, France and Spain and it emerged that simulators are extensively used to train crew at various stages like initial induction, promotion and periodic refresher courses.
A comprehensive range of simulation-based training tools are being extensively used by railways worldwide. These tools include full-replica cab simulators with motion (for specific locomotive types), generic driver desk cab simulators (some controls are real while some are on touch screen and can be changed depending on locomotive type) and generic desktop simulators or soft simulators/compact simulators.
Emphasis is also on introducing e-learning cloud-based platforms and self-learning simulation-based training on android platforms, the official said.
Increased hours spent on simulator-based training improves the skill of the crew in train management, handling and brake management -- and dealing with unusual and unsafe events. This helps improve safety in train operations. Further, it also leads to other benefits like reduction in energy bills through efficient driving and also increases the productivity of the crew.
The study further analysed the requirement of simulation-based training keeping in view the global best practices and norms and also the crew training requirements in the coming years keeping in view massive capacity augmentation and the electrification drive.
The system is also expected to ensure timely running of trains.
NFR Chief Public Relations Officer, Pranav Jyoti Sharma, said an equipment called FogPASS (Fog Pilot Assistance System for Safety), consisting of an in-built battery and GPS antenna with a magnetic base, has been installed in all locomotives in the NFR.
"The device, which weighs 1.5 kg, is carried by the loco pilot at the time of assuming charge of the locomotive. It is placed on the console of the loco and, as the train moves, it displays short description and remaining distance of next two landmarks in geographical order on an LCD screen," he said, adding that landmarks include signals of various types and level-crossings.
"This means that as a train approaches a station, the device will flash the distance left for the home signal of that station. Thus, even if the pilot is unable to physically see the signal, he would be aware of how far train is from the signal and would be alert to notice the aspect of the signal (red, green or yellow) and act accordingly," he said.
He said there is also provision of voice announcement from speakers attached to the device. The new device has proved to be helpful to drivers in foggy weather, Sharma added.
"A total of 1,101 such devices have already been allotted to all Divisions for fixing in locomotives. Besides, the Railways has also deployed Fogmen to place detonators on the tracks to alert the loco pilots about approaching signals. Senior railway officials are undertaking night foot-plate inspection and track patrolling to detect cases of rail fracture," he said.
Railway authorities have also provided sufficient walkie-talkie sets to the crew and station staff. Signal indication booklets have been provided to loco pilot and counselling on working during fog is also being done.
He said FogPASS is also proving to be a boon in speeding up trains during intense fog.
According to sources, at around 12:50 PM, when Bhubaneswar-Anand Vihar Superfast Express was approaching the level crossing, a herd of buffaloes, school children and many local residents were crossing the railway track.
But in no time, gateman A K Tripathy put up a red signal on the track and subsequently the train was stopped by the loco pilot just before the level crossing.
Later, Tripathy was applauded by Railway authorities for his quick response which saved many lives.