Three railway staff members were among eight people killed when a goods train rear-ended the Silchar-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express at 8.55 am today, railway officials have said.

The goods train, which reportedly jumped a signal, collided with the passenger train on the same track around 8.55 am. Three coaches of the express train derailed, with one of them climbing onto the locomotive of the goods rake because of the impact of the collision. 

At least five passengers and three railway staffers – the locomotive pilot and assistant locomotive pilot of the goods rake and the guard in the express train – were killed and nearly 50 others were injured. Officials said the casualties could have been much higher but for the fact that the last two coaches of the express train were the guard coach and the cargo van. 

Four coaches of the Kanchanjunga Express and the engine and five containers of the goods trains were involved in the collision, which occurred near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri. The rescue operation is now complete. 

The Kanchanjunga Express passes through the Chicken’s Neck, a narrow corridor that connects the Northeast with the rest of the country. At least 10 trains have been diverted as a result of the accident. 

Kavach Not Implemented

Speaking to NDTV, Sabyasachi De, the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northeast Frontier Railway, said the cause of the accident is being investigated and while some trains have been diverted, movement will not be hampered because the Aluabari-Siliguri-New Jalpaiguri line is being used. 

Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha confirmed the deaths of the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the goods train and the guard of the express train. 

“The injured have been taken to the North Bengal Medical College in Siliguri. Our priority is to get them the best possible medical aid so that their lives can be saved and they can recover as fast as possible… The unaffected portion of the train is being sent to its destination for the benefit of the passengers. For the families of the victims, helpdesks and helpline numbers have been set up,” she said. 

Ms Sinha said an inquiry will be conducted and admitted that the Kavach anti-collision system has not been implemented on the route used by the train. She added, however, that it has been planned on the Delhi-Guwahati route. When implemented, this will cover at least some sections in Bengal and Assam. 

The absence of the much-vaunted indigenously developed Kavach system was also talked about after the triple train collision in Odisha’s Balasore in June last year, in which 293 people were killed and over 1,200 were injured.

How The System Works

Kavach, Hindi for armour, is an anti-collision system developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) to achieve the goal of “zero accidents”. The technology is Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) certified – the highest certification level – meaning that there is a probability of just one error by Kavach in 10,000 years.

The system uses high-frequency radio communication and operates on the principle of continuous update of movement to prevent collisions. If it senses that an accident is about to happen, it automatically activates the brakes of the train on routes where the system is implemented. 

At Rs 50 lakh per km, it is also significantly lower than the cost of such technology used in other nations.

Officials said that the system has been put in place in 1,500 km of tracks so far and 3,000 km will be covered this year. The length of India’s railway network is over 1 lakh km. 

Helpline numbers released by the Railways: 033-23508794 and 033-23833326 (Sealdah) and 03612731621, 03612731622 and 03612731623 at Guwahati.

New Delhi:

Extending his condolences to the families of the people killed in this morning’s train accident in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he has spoken to officials to take stock of the situation and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is also headed to the site. Describing the collision as saddening, the PM said he is praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. 

In a post on X, the Prime Minister wrote, “The railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. 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 railway accident in West Bengal is saddening. 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…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 17, 2024

The Prime Minister’s Office has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured. 

Eight people – including three Railway staffers – were killed and nearly 50 were injured after the Kanchanjunga Express, headed to Sealdah in Kolkata from Silchar in Assam was hit from the rear by a goods train near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri around 8.55 am. The goods train had overshot a signal. 

The New Jalpaiguri railway station is a busy one and is used by passengers from all states during their journey to Darjeeling.

Home Minister Amit Shah also condoled the deaths in the collision. 

पश्चिम बंगाल के न्यू जलपाईगुड़ी में हुआ रेल हादसा बहुत दुःखद है। इस दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण हादसे में जिन लोगों ने अपने परिजनों को खोया है, उनके प्रति संवेदनाएँ व्यक्त करता हूँ और घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूँ।

পশ্চিমবঙ্গের নিউ জলপাইগুড়িতে ঘটা ট্রেন দুর্ঘটনাটি খুবই…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 17, 2024

“The railway accident in New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal is very sad. I express my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this unfortunate accident and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he posted in Hindi and Bengali on X.