NEW DELHI/BUXAR, Oct 12: Fault in railway tracks was the possible cause of derailment of all the coaches of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express in Bihar, sources said on Thursday citing a preliminary investigation report.
At least four people were killed and several injured in the accident in Bihar’s Buxar district Wednesday night.
“It seems that derailment occurred due to fault in tracks,” the report, signed by six railway officials, stated.
However, other railway officials pointed out that the train was brought to a sudden halt by applying brakes when it was travelling at great speed.
The guard of the Assam-bound train, Vijay Kumar, recalled that he felt brakes had been suddenly applied which was followed by jerks.
“I was busy with my paperwork when I realised that the driver suddenly applied brakes. This was followed by a few jerks and I fainted. Later, I found myself in the adjoining fields, where villagers were sprinkling drops of water on my face,” said Kumar, who has sustained minor injuries.
Highlighting the condition of passenger coaches, the report stated that all 22 coaches and the engine derailed — two of them were fully capsized and two others turned turtle.
The probe report has estimated the cost of damage due to the accident at more than Rs 52 crore.
The loco pilot, Vipin Kumar Sinha, suffered minor injuries and his assistant sustained serious injuries in the accident.
The report also contained a statement from Sinha who said that the train passed Raghunathpur station, near which the accident occurred, at a speed of 128 km per hour, but soon after it crossed the station section, it suffered a severe jolt at the rear end with excessive vibration.
As a result of the excessive vibration and the severe jolt, the brake pipe pressure dropped suddenly and the train derailed at 9:52 pm, the preliminary report quoted the loco pilot as saying.
According to Sinha’s statement, he took charge of the train from Deen Dayal Upadhyay station at 8:27 pm when everything was fine.
He said that the train reached Buxar at 9:29 pm when the assistant loco pilot again did an inspection of the engine and found everything fine.
The report also quoted a gateman and a pointsman at the Raghunathpur station as saying that they saw sparks coming from near the wheels of the train.
“As per statement from the gateman of LC (Level Crossing) Gate no 59B, train no 12506 passed the gate and just after passing 8-10 coaches, he observed sparking and heard heavy noise,” the report stated.
The report stated a breath analyser test of the loco pilot and his assistant was negative.
At least four people died and several were injured when the train derailed near Raghunathpur in Bihar’s Buxar district on Wednesday night.
He also said that many people, who received minor injuries and were discharged within hours of the accident, were accommodated in a special train which left for the destination stations.
“Based on the medical advice of doctors, we are providing ambulance facilities to passengers to be dropped at home even if they are from distant places in Bihar and West Bengal,” the CPRO said.
Apart from the four dead, 30 passengers, including six women and two children, were injured when the train derailed near the Raghunathpur station.
Meanwhile, railway authorities said an ex-gratia amount has been paid to almost all victims or their immediate family members except a few including one of the deceased Narendra, a esident of Rajasthan.
However, Bihar government officials maintained that family members of Narendra have been informed and they are expected to arrive Buxar tonight.
Bodies of two victims
being taken by
road to Assam
Bodies of a woman and her daughter, two of the four dead in the derailment of the North East Express near Raghunathpur in Bihar, are being brought in an ambulance to their home in Tinsukia district in Assam, a railway official said on Thursday.
The two are 37-year-old Usha Bhandari and her eight-year-old daughter Akriti, Northeast Frontier Railway public relations officer Dipak Deka told .
The woman was travelling with her husband Deepak Bhandari and twin daughters from Delhi to her paternal home at Sadiya in Assam’s Tinsukia district. While she and one of the daughters died in the accident, her husband and other daughter escaped unhurt.
PM condoles loss of lives
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was pained by the loss of lives in the train derailment in Bihar’s Buxar district and extended his condolences to the bereaved families.
He said authorities are providing all possible assistance to all those affected.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to the derailment of a few coaches of the North East Express. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for a quick recovery of the injured. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to all those affected,” the Prime Minister’s Office quoted Modi as saying in a post on X. (PTI)