At least two people were killed and 20 others injured when 18 coaches of the Mumbai-Howrah Mail derailed in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Tuesday, reported PTI.
The accident occurred around 3.45 am when the train collided with a stationary goods train in the Chakradharpur Division of the South Eastern Railway, reported India Today.
In all, 16 passenger coaches, one power car and one pantry car of the Mumbai-Howrah Mail came off the tracks, an unidentified official in the South Eastern Railway told the news agency.
The injured were provided first aid in Badabamboo before being taken to Chakradharpur for further treatment.
This marks India’s third major railway accident in less than two months. A goods train derailed in West Bengal on June 17 and a passenger train collided with a goods train in Uttar Pradesh on July 18, killing a total of 12 persons.
South Eastern Railway division spokesperson Om Prakash Charan confirmed that a goods train had also derailed nearby in Seraikela-Kharsawan on Tuesday morning. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were related or if they occurred simultaneously, reported PTI.
Five trains were cancelled and four others terminated before their destinations in the South Eastern Railway division on Tuesday. The cancelled trains are the Howrah-Titlagarh-Kantabaji Express, the Kharagpur-Dhanbad Express, the Howrah-Barbil-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express, the Tatanagar-Itwari Express and Shalimar-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express.
The Railways also said that Rs 50,000 compensation each has been provided to four of the injured persons. “Grant of ex-gratia for the rest injured passengers is under process,” it said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Union government for the recent spate of train accidents.
“I seriously ask: is this governance?” Banerjee wrote in a social media post. “This series of nightmares almost every week, this unending procession of deaths and injuries on railway tracks: for how long shall we tolerate this? Will there be no end to the callousness of Government of India?!”
In a social media post, the Congress listed 14 major train accidents over the last 10 years, asking who was responsible for them. The first of these accidents occurred less than two weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha also criticised the Centre, saying the railway minister should “stop making reels and pay attention to railways”. This was an apparent reference to Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s conspicuous presence on social media.
“The entire responsibility for this lies with your Railway Minister and the Central government,” said the ruling party in Jharkhand.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said the Union government wants to “make a record” of the number of train accidents, reported ANI.
“Despite the government’s claims of safety and security and a big budget, why are accidents happening?” asked Yadav. “Some time ago, India participated in COP29 [Conference of the Parties] and G20 was also held…Uttarakhand has also seen landslides. The government should tell what it is doing to tackle such incidents.”
On July 18, several coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, killing two people and injuring over 30 others. A preliminary investigation found that improper fastening of the railway track may have been responsible.
On June 17, a goods train collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express near the New Jalpaiguri railway station in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, killing 10 persons.
In a preliminary report on the West Bengal incident, Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety Janak Kumar Garg said that inadequate training of loco pilots and station masters, and the absence of critical safety equipment such as walkie-talkies, may have led to the collision.
In June 2023, 288 passengers were killed and around 900 injured when three trains collided with each other in Odisha’s Balasore, marking one of India’s worst train accidents.
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!