The Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express collided with a goods train near New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal on June 17, 2024. Photo: Special arrangement
At least nine persons, including two railway crew members, were killed on Monday when a goods train carrying containers collided with the 13174 Down Agartala Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express between Rangapani and Chattar Hat stations in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district.
Kanchanjungha Express train accident: Highlights on June 17, 2024
The accident occurred under the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway about 10 km from the New Jalpaiguri station at 8.55 a.m. on Monday. Kanchanjunga Express was moving at a slow speed when the goods train travelling on the same track overshot the signal and hit the train from the rear with a significant speed. Four coaches from the rear side of the Kanchanjunga Express and five wagons of the goods train got derailed because of the impact of the collision, blocking the train movement on both up and down lines.
A few bogies of the Kanchanjunga Express, including the guards’ cabin, and two parcel vans climbed onto the bogies of the container carrying the goods train because of the impact of the collision. The coaches were badly mangled and the rescue personnel had to struggle for hours to extricate the dead and the injured. Nine persons were grievously injured and 32 sustained minor injuries.
Chairperson of the Railway Board Jaya Varma Sinha said the collision might have happened as the goods train driver disregarded the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express. She said the loco pilot of the goods train and the guard of Kanchanjunga Express died in the accident.
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“We have to control human error and [installation of] Kavach is the most important thing on which work is going on in mission mode. So far, we have introduced Kavach for 1,500 km and another 3,000 km will be completed this year,” the chairperson said.
She added that the railway network under West Bengal was being included under Kavach protection (made-in-India technology to prevent collisions of trains travelling on the same track) this year as part of the 3,000 km being brought under surveillance.
The unaffected compartments of the Kanchanjunga Express along with the passengers injured left for Sealdah from the accident site around 12.40 p.m. on Monday. The Kanchanjunga Express had left Agartala in Tripura at 8.15 a.m. on June 16 and was expected to arrive at Sealdah at 7.20 p.m. on June 17.
Mamata blames Railways
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and met those injured in the accident, put the entire blame on the Railways and said the Ministry had become “totally parentless”.
Ms. Banerjee, who was Railway Minister under the UPA-II government, said she had devised an anti-collision device but it had not been implemented in the country. “When I was Rail Minister I first implemented the anti-collision system. But all trains in India are still not under this system. Passenger safety is negligible in the current state of Indian Railways. There is no rail budget. The Ministry is there just in name,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also raised questions on the accountability of the Narendra Modi government as far as Railways is concerned.
“In the past 10 years, the Modi government has indulged in the utter mismanagement of the Railway Ministry. As a responsible Opposition, it is our bounden duty to underline how the Modi government has systematically converted the Rail Ministry into a platform of ‘camera-driven’ self-promotion,” Mr. Kharge posted on social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the railway accident in West Bengal as “saddening” and offered 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,” the Prime Minister posted on social media.
Ex gratia announced
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the accident site and took stock of the relief work. The Minister met the injured at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. He declared an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh for the families of the casualties, ₹2.5 lakh towards the seriously injured, and ₹50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries. Mr. Vaishnaw said the accident would be investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.
The incident brought back memories of the horrific Coromandel Express accident in Odisha on June 2, 2023, which claimed about 290 lives. Human error and signalling issues were held responsible for the tragedy which involved three trains and turned out to be among the biggest train accidents in the country. The delay in installation of the anti-collision Kavach system was raised during the Coromandel Express accident.
Monday’s accident has severely affected rail movement in north Bengal and northeastern States. About 37 trains had to be diverted through New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri Junction, Bagdogra and Aluabari Road stations and eight trains had to be cancelled. The debris on the up line was cleared at 5.40 p.m., according to the NF Railway, and work for restoration of the down line is in progress.