Immediately after the accident, Railway Board chairperson Jaya Verma Sinha said that the collision occurred because the goods train ignored signals. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started an investigation into the cause of the accident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident in West Bengal as tragic and expressed condolences and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. In a post on Twitter, Modi said, "The railway accident in West Bengal is tragic. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones.,
Due to the road being narrow for big vehicles, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav reached the spot sitting on the back of a motorcycle. He took stock of the relief operations and announced compensation for the injured and the families of the deceased.
While Rs 10 lakh will be given to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh will be given to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries, Vaishnav posted on Twitter. Vaishnav said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has taken an investigation into the accident. It has launched an investigation into the cause and said steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.
He stressed that restoring train operations on the vital route connecting Northeast India with the rest of the country is a top priority for the Railways."The collision occurred because the goods train ignored the signal and collided with the Kanchenjunga Express, which was traveling from Agartala to Sealdah," Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Verma Sinha told reporters in Delhi soon after the accident. According to a passenger. , The train stopped suddenly with a loud noise and a sharp jerk. On alighting, he saw that the goods train had hit his rake from behind.
“We were having tea when the train suddenly stopped with a jerk,” he said.
A pregnant woman traveling with her family said she was thrown from her seat when the impact occurred."It felt like an earthquake. It took us some time to collect ourselves and understand what happened," she said, sitting with her family in one of the air-conditioned sleeper coaches. A passenger from Agartala, who was in coach number S6 , said that he suddenly felt a shock and the carriage stopped with a force.
"My wife, child and I somehow managed to get out of the damaged coach. We are stranded at the moment... the rescue operation also started very late," the passenger told a television channel.,
According to railway officials, the passenger train was stationary when the goods train collided with it. Meanwhile, internal documents revealed that the goods train was allowed to cross all red signals because the automatic signaling had "failed".
A railway source said the document, a written authorization named TA 912, was issued by the station master of Ranipatra to the driver of the goods train, authorizing him to cross all red signals.
The Railway Board said preliminary findings indicate that the goods train driver violated signal rules and failed to follow the operational norms of the faulty automatic signal system. Responding to the claim that the goods train driver was fined for crossing the red signal. Permission was granted, a senior Railway Board official clarified, “The driver was issued TA 912 authorisation.As per protocol, when red signal is encountered on the automatic system, the loco pilot should proceed with caution at a speed not exceeding 15 kmph in good visibility conditions and 10 kmph in poor visibility conditions."
According to the board, the driver exceeded the permissible speed limit, which led to the collision with Kanchenjunga Express between Ranipatra station and Chhatar Hat Junction.
A railway source said the automatic signaling system between Ranipatra station and Chhatar Hat Junction was down since 5.50 am. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the spot in the evening, alleged that the railways was "completely guardianless". And he is only keen on increasing fares and not improving passenger facilities.
He claimed, “Railways has become completely parentless.Though the ministry is there, the old glory is missing. Only beautification is being done, but they do not care about passenger amenities. "They're just eager to see the fares go up."
Governor CV Anand Bose, who also visited the spot and the hospital, said treatment of the victims should be given priority and not play the blame game. Meanwhile, railway officials said the train left Kolkata with passengers in unaffected coaches. Has started its journey to and is scheduled to reach Kolkata around midnight.Eastern Railway officials in Kolkata said several long-distance trains were being diverted from the Siliguri-Bagdogra-Aluabari zone instead of their normal route as the tracks were blocked at the accident site.
Due to the road being narrow for big vehicles, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav reached the spot sitting on the back of a motorcycle. He took stock of the relief operations and announced compensation for the injured and the families of the deceased.
While Rs 10 lakh will be given to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh will be given to the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 to those with minor injuries, Vaishnav posted on Twitter. Vaishnav said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has taken an investigation into the accident. It has launched an investigation into the cause and said steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.
He stressed that restoring train operations on the vital route connecting Northeast India with the rest of the country is a top priority for the Railways."The collision occurred because the goods train ignored the signal and collided with the Kanchenjunga Express, which was traveling from Agartala to Sealdah," Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Verma Sinha told reporters in Delhi soon after the accident. According to a passenger. , The train stopped suddenly with a loud noise and a sharp jerk. On alighting, he saw that the goods train had hit his rake from behind.
“We were having tea when the train suddenly stopped with a jerk,” he said.
A pregnant woman traveling with her family said she was thrown from her seat when the impact occurred."It felt like an earthquake. It took us some time to collect ourselves and understand what happened," she said, sitting with her family in one of the air-conditioned sleeper coaches. A passenger from Agartala, who was in coach number S6 , said that he suddenly felt a shock and the carriage stopped with a force.
"My wife, child and I somehow managed to get out of the damaged coach. We are stranded at the moment... the rescue operation also started very late," the passenger told a television channel.,
According to railway officials, the passenger train was stationary when the goods train collided with it. Meanwhile, internal documents revealed that the goods train was allowed to cross all red signals because the automatic signaling had "failed".
A railway source said the document, a written authorization named TA 912, was issued by the station master of Ranipatra to the driver of the goods train, authorizing him to cross all red signals.
The Railway Board said preliminary findings indicate that the goods train driver violated signal rules and failed to follow the operational norms of the faulty automatic signal system. Responding to the claim that the goods train driver was fined for crossing the red signal. Permission was granted, a senior Railway Board official clarified, “The driver was issued TA 912 authorisation.As per protocol, when red signal is encountered on the automatic system, the loco pilot should proceed with caution at a speed not exceeding 15 kmph in good visibility conditions and 10 kmph in poor visibility conditions."
According to the board, the driver exceeded the permissible speed limit, which led to the collision with Kanchenjunga Express between Ranipatra station and Chhatar Hat Junction.
A railway source said the automatic signaling system between Ranipatra station and Chhatar Hat Junction was down since 5.50 am. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the spot in the evening, alleged that the railways was "completely guardianless". And he is only keen on increasing fares and not improving passenger facilities.
He claimed, “Railways has become completely parentless.Though the ministry is there, the old glory is missing. Only beautification is being done, but they do not care about passenger amenities. "They're just eager to see the fares go up."
Governor CV Anand Bose, who also visited the spot and the hospital, said treatment of the victims should be given priority and not play the blame game. Meanwhile, railway officials said the train left Kolkata with passengers in unaffected coaches. Has started its journey to and is scheduled to reach Kolkata around midnight.Eastern Railway officials in Kolkata said several long-distance trains were being diverted from the Siliguri-Bagdogra-Aluabari zone instead of their normal route as the tracks were blocked at the accident site.
