30 July 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : Two passengers were killed and at least 20 injured when the Howrah-Mumbai Mail rammed into a derailed goods train near Barabambo station in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Tuesday, the third railway accident since June that prompted the cancellation and diversion of multiple trains.
“Two passengers died; their bodies were recovered from the bathrooms after a coach was cut with gas cutters. About 15-20 passengers have been injured; 4-5 seriously. The Howrah-Mumbai Mail rammed into a goods train from behind and about a dozen of its coaches were derailed. Rescue operation is ongoing,” said Seraikela-Kharsawan deputy development commissioner Prabhat Kumar Badiyar.
Seraikela-Kharsawan police superintendent Mukesh Lunayat said they were trying to ascertain the exact reasons for the mishap. “As per preliminary report, the Mumbai-bound train apparently rammed into a goods train which was already derailed.”
The seriously injured passengers were rushed to Chakradharpur Railway Hospital. Passengers were mostly stuck in five coaches.
Officials said the cause of the accident was not immediately known. “As per initial information, a goods train coming from the opposite side derailed and impacted this passenger train passing by from the opposite side,” said an official.
Many trains were running late due to the disruptions the accident caused. Kharagpur–Dhanbad Express, Howrah–Barbil Express, Asansol–Tata Express, Ispat Express, Kharagpur-Jhargram-Dhanbad Express, Howrah–Barbil Janshatabdi Express, and Shalimar-LTT Express were among the trains cancelled.
Howrah-CSMT Duranto Express, Howrah-Pune Express, and Puri-Rishikesh Express were diverted.
The Mumbai-Howrah Mail derailed days after two people were killed and 20 injured after coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express jumped the tracks at Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on July 18.
In June, 15 people died and dozens were injured when a freight train smashed into a stationary Kolkata-bound Kanchanjunga Express passenger train in West Bengal. Over a year back, a signalling error caused one of India’s worst rail crashes that left 288 people dead in the neighbouring state of Odisha.
In his post-Budget remarks last week, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the focus will be enhancing safety. He said a record ₹1,08,795 crore out of the total ₹2,62,200 crore outlay will be dedicated to safety measures. He said the installation of the Kavach automatic train protection system was at the top of the priority list for the government.