New Delhi: In a grim reminder of the Balasore tragedy that claimed 296 lives last June, nine persons were killed and 41 injured today after a goods train rammed into the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express from behind in West Bengal's Darjeeling district.
Among the deceased were the pilot of the goods train and the guard of the passenger train, a senior railway official said.
CRS probe begins
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started a probe into the cause of the accident and added that steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.
The Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express was hit from behind by the container train between the Rangapani and Chatterhat stations under the Katihar division. Following the collision, which took place around 8.45 am, four rear compartments of Kanchanjungha Express and five wagons of the container train got derailed, blocking train movement on the track for hours.
Like the Balasore tragedy, the Kanchanjunga Express accident too resulted from signal issues. The automatic signalling system had stopped working and the drivers of both trains were aware of it, said railway sources. While the driver of the Kanchanjungha Express was following the protocol of going slow (sticking to 10 kmph or less) during the signal failure, the driver of the container train allegedly did not observe the protocol, leading to the accident.
Jaya Verma Sinha, Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, said: “Prima facie it suggests human error as the cause. The first indications suggest that this is a case of signal disregard.”
The sources, however, said an investigation alone could establish whether the goods train did not follow the protocol regarding the maintenance of speed at defective signals.
While the exact speed of the container train could not be immediately ascertained, it is obvious that it was coming at considerable speed since it derailed four rear compartments of the express.
According to preliminary information received from railway officials, the passenger train was almost stationary when the goods train rammed into it.
The Railways has confirmed nine deaths, including that of the driver of the container train and the guard of the passenger train. The remaining victims were passengers. The assistant driver of the goods train miraculously survived the crash and is being treated for injuries. Nine of the 41 injured are critical, the Railways said in a statement.
The last coach in the passenger train was the guard's cabin. The next two were the parcel vans and had no passenger. All seven passengers who died were in the fourth coach, which was for unreserved travellers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh ex gratia relief to families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
