2024-06-19 14:35:02
Train operations resumed after over 20 hours at the site in Bengal’s Siliguri where a Kanchanjunga Express was hit from behind by a goods train on Monday. Meanwhile, the death toll in the tragedy has increased to 10.
Both the up and down lines on the site are now operating normally, and the restoration work has been completed.
Several trains, however, have been cancelled or diverted due to the tragedy that also injured several others.
The Kanchanjunga Express reached its destination in Kolkata’s Sealdah at 3.16 am on Tuesday after undergoing restoration work. The mangled compartments remained at the crash site, which was removed by teams as part of the repair work.
Initially, the Railway Board said the goods driver overshot the signal, causing the massive collision. However, internal documents later showed that the automatic signalling system on the stretch where the accident occurred wasn’t working since Monday morning, and the driver was cleared to cross red signals.
Here are the latest developments in the Kanchanjunga train tragedy in Bengal:
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Passengers, who survived the deadly collision, were seen breaking down as the Kanchanjunga Express reached Sealdah in the early hours of Tuesday. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim was seen consoling a male passenger who cried profusely. Hakim also interacted with other passengers as they departed the station.
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Train services resumed on both the up and down lines at the accident site in Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling district in Siliguri subdivision. A Kamakhya Express train was seen passing on the up line earlier in the day, and later the down line was also restored.
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Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Katihar Northeast Frontier Railway, Subhendu Kumar Choudhary said that the restoration work has been going on at the crash site since yesterday, and it is expected for operations to go back to normal today itself.
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Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the injured passengers admitted at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri, slammed the Centre for neglecting the Railways, saying they only engaged in publicity of Vande Bharat trains. She added that when she was the Railways Minister, she “ensured the anti-collision device was prepared and started” having seen “2-3 major train accidents”.
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Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar hit back at Mamata Banerjee over her remark on anti-collision device being installed during her time as the Railways Minister. “This is not the time for politics… Being a Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee claiming that she has introduced the anti-collision device is absolutely ridiculous,” Majumdar told news agency ANI on Monday after meeting the injured passengers.
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Divisional Railway Manager Sealdah, Deepak Nigam, said that doctors and Railways Protection Force teams have been deployed at the station to assist the passengers of the Kanchanjunga Express. “We have ambulances also on standby, if needed we will use them. Medical booths are also here to guide the passengers,” he told news agency ANI.
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The chairperson of the Railway Board, Jaya Varma Sinha, said at a press briefing on Monday that the collision took place because the goods train driver overshot the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express. She added that a guard’s coach and two parcel vans of the Kanchanjunga Express were destroyed, preventing damage to passenger coaches.
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However, sources told India Today that the goods train was given a written authority ‘TA 912’ by the station master of Ranipatra, allowing him to cross all red signals between Ranipatra station and Chattar Hat Junction as the automatic signalling system between the two points had not been working since Monday morning.
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Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who visited the accident site, told reporters after taking stock of the situation that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had begun an investigation into the cause of the accident. The Congress, however, has demanded the resignation of Vaishnaw while flagging the “mismanagement” of the ministry.
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A financial aid of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund (PMNRF) has been announced for the families of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 for those injured. Meanwhile, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced financial aid of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for those grievously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries.
A passenger travelling on the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express that derailed on Monday after a collision with a goods train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district has filed a complaint against the loco pilot and co-loco pilot of the goods train.
Upon receiving the complaint, officials of the New Jalpaiguri GRP Police Station registered an FIR under the relevant section of the Indian Railways Act and initiated a probe.
(With inputs from Rittick Mondal and Rajesh Saha)
