Kolkata, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started an investigation into the cause of the accident in which a goods train collided with the Kanchenjunga Express from behind at Rangpani in West Bengal on Monday morning.

Vaishnav said measures would be taken to prevent recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident.

He stressed that resumption of train operations on the vital route connecting Northeast India with the rest of the country is a top priority for the Railways.

"There will be a thorough investigation into the accident by the Commissioner of Railway Safety," Vaishnav told reporters at the accident site at Rangpani near New Jalpaiguri station in Siliguri.

Vaishnav confirmed that the rescue operation has been completed.

Pointing to possible "human error" on the part of the loco pilot of the goods train who was injured in the accident, Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Verma Sinha had said earlier in the day that the collision might have been caused by freight traffic. The train ignored signals and collided with the Kanchenjunga Express, which was traveling from Agartala to Sealdah.