Ten coaches of Delhi-bound Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh early on Wednesday, leaving around 100 passengers injured.
“A dumper hit the locomotive of the Kaifiyat Express, resulting in derailment of coaches,” Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said. Railway Ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena said a dumper was trespassing the railway track between the Pata and Achalda stations in Uttar Pradesh when it hit the Kaifiyat Express which was running at a speed of around 100 km per hour at 2.40 am.
“An unauthorised dumper crossed the railway fence and hit the locomotive of the Kaifiyat Express. As of now 25 passengers are reported injured,” Mr. Saxena said.
Trains cancelled
Due to the accident, six trains were cancelled, 35 diverted and two re-scheduled.
When the train started to wobble, Manoj, a labourer, travelling to Aligarh for work from Azamgarh, thought it would be the end of his life. Manoj was in one of the general coaches that went off the track. He sustained injuries in the head.
Manoj says the impact of the accident created panic among the passengers as they saw smoke rise out of a bogie ahead of them. “Thankfully, we were rescued. We just managed to save our lives,” he says.
Mukesh, another passenger, received injuries on the right hand. A regular commuter of the Kafiyat Express, the electrician from Jaunpur, says the train was travelling faster than usual. “I had never seen this train travel so fast,” he said.
Mukesh said official help arrived at the site — which was far off from dense population — only after 30 minutes. According to a police spokesperson, around 100 passengers were injured and are receiving treatment in various hospitals and State health centres. However, the Railway Ministry maintained that 42 passengers were injured.
Second case
This is the second case of train derailment in the last five days. On Saturday evening, Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express derailed at Khatauli near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, killing 21 people and injuring over 80 passengers. The accident caused due to negligence by the maintenance team working on the track. The Railway Ministry has sent three top officials on leave, suspended four local level officials and transferred another official after finding lapses in the maintenance work that led to the derailment.
