HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 17: At least nine people — seven passengers and two railway staff — were killed and 41 injured after a goods train rammed into the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express from behind in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Monday.
Among the deceased were the pilot of the goods train and the guard of the passenger train, an NF Railway press statement said.
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The injured have been shifted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
Some local reports attributed to senior West Bengal Police officials put the casualty count at 15.
The toll could rise, as multiple agencies of the state and Centre were simultaneously working on war footing along with locals to rescue passengers who could still be trapped inside, sources said.
As a result of the accident, four coaches from rear side of the Kanchanjungha Express and 5 wagons of the container carrying train got derailed blocking the train movements of both Up and Down lines. However, debris on the Up Line was cleared at 17:40 hrs. Work for speedy restoration of the Down Line is also in progress, the press statement added.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones”.
“I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue operations are underway to assist the affected. The Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji is on the way to the site of the mishap as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who on Monday left for West Bengal to take stock of relief operations following the train accident, announced ex-gratia compensation to the victims.
While Rs 10 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh would be provided to the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries, Vaishnaw posted on X.
Vaishnaw informed that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started a probe into the cause of the accident.
Vaishnaw added that measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.
According to preliminary information received from railway officials, the passenger train was stationary on the tracks when the goods train rammed into it from behind.
While two rear compartments of the Kanchanjunga Express were immediately thrown off the tracks under the severe impact, another bogie was seen precariously hanging mid-air with the engine of the goods train tucked underneath.
Inclement weather in the region posed an additional challenge to the rescue operations, the officials said.
The accident triggered haunting memories of the Coromandel Express disaster near Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha a year ago, which killed nearly 300 people and injured over a 1,000 others.
The 13174 Kanchanjunga Express was bound for Sealdah from Agartala when the accident occurred around 9 am, the railway official said.
No Fault of goods train: The goods train that rammed into the Kanchanjunga Express between Ranipatra Railway Station and Chattar Hat Junction in West Bengal on Monday was allowed to cross all red signals as the automatic signalling had “failed”, internal documents show.
The document, a written authority called TA 912, was issued to the driver of the goods train by the station master of Ranipatra, authorising him to cross all red signals, a railway source said.
“Automatic Signalling has failed and you are hereby authorized to pass all automatic signals between RNI (Ranipatra Railway Station) and CAT (Chattar Hat Junction),” says the authority letter.
“The TA 912 is issued when there is no obstruction or any train on the line in the section, and it authorises the driver to cross red or caution signals. It is a matter of investigation why the station master did that. He might have been under the impression that the previous train crossed the station section and entered into another section,” the railway source explained.
According to the source, the automatic signalling system between RNI and CAT was defective since 5.50 am Monday.
Il-fated train restarts journey: Railway officials, meanwhile, confirmed that the ill-fated Kanchanjunga Express has begun its journey to Kolkata with passengers in the unaffected coaches.
“The train has started from the accident site around 12.40 pm and is expected to reach Sealdah at 8 pm,” Kaushik Mitra, CPRO, Eastern Railway, told reporters.
Long-distance train services from north Bengal and the northeastern part of the country were affected due to the accident.
Eastern Railway officials in Kolkata said route diversions of several long-distance trains were being made through the Siliguri-Bagdogra-Aluabari zone instead of their usual route, as the tracks remained blocked at the accident site.
Among the trains diverted were the Guwahati-Saraighat Express, Guwahati-Bengaluru Express, NJP-Howrah Vande Bharat, Kamrup Express and Uttarbanga Express, the officials said.
West Bengal government officials said additional bus services were being introduced from the region on an emergency basis to transport the affected commuters.
BJP MP from Darjeeling Raju Bista was among the leaders who rushed to the spot to oversee rescue operations.
A passenger from Agartala, who was in coach number S6 of the Kanchanjunga Express, said he felt a sudden jerk and the compartment screeched to a halt.
He also claimed that the relief and rescue operations were delayed.
“My wife, child and I somehow managed to come out of the mangled coach. We are currently stranded… The rescue operations also started quite late,” the passenger told a television channel. (With inputs from PTI)
