Kanchanjunga Exp passengers recount ‘nightmare’ as they reach Kolkata
Train services resume from Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district where accident took place; some trains cancelled, diverted on Tuesday too
“It is the mercy of God that I am alive today and talking to you. I can’t narrate in words what we went through. There was a huge jerk and I fell from the upper-berth. It was a nightmare,” narrated a woman passenger about her ordeal in the ill-fated Kanchanjunga Express, which was hit by a goods train near New Jalpaiguri in north Bengal.
At least four coaches in the rear of the train were severely damaged in the collision with the goods train at Rangapani, about 10 km from New Jalpaiguri station, on a rain-soaked Monday morning in north Bengal.
The passengers of the Kanchanjunga Express, with its 19 unaffected coaches, which had resumed its journey towards Kolkata with 1,293 passengers around 12 noon on Monday (June 17), reached Sealdah station in Kolkata at 3.15 am on Tuesday morning.
'Nightmare'
Talking to mediapersons, the passengers narrated the trauma they had to undergo. One woman passenger described the entire experience as a "nightmare".
“I have to frequently travel in trains for my business in north Bengal. But now I am really scared. I think I got a fresh lease of life," said a passenger of B2 coach, according to media reports.
Many passengers were seen breaking down as the Kanchanjunga Express reached Sealdah station.
Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim was seen consoling a male passenger who cried profusely. Hakim also interacted with other passengers as they departed the station.
Hakim, West Bengal transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty, and divisional railway manager of Sealdah division Deepak Nigam were present at the station to ensure smooth dispersal of the passengers and onward movement to their homes, an official said.
Passengers reach Kolkata
The 13174 Kanchanjunga Express from Tripura capital Agartala, scheduled to reach Sealdah at 7.20 pm on Monday, arrived at its destination eight hours behind schedule at 3.16 am, an Eastern Railways official said.
The hapless passengers, who went through the horror of the accident, were provided with medical facilities, food and water at various stations, including Malda town and also at Sealdah during the journey, he said.
The state's transport department provided buses and small vehicles to the passengers at Sealdah station to ensure that they reached their homes smoothly, a state government official said.
Train services resume
Meanwhile, the mangled compartments of the train remain at the crash site, where repair work is underway and efforts continue to remove the remains.
At least four coaches in the rear of the train were severely damaged in the collision.
According to media reports, train services resumed from the Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling district where the accident happened on Monday. A Kamakhya Express train was seen passing on an adjacent line to the one where the crash took place.
However, there were some cancellations on Tuesday too. The Railways issued a statement on eight train cancellations on the route. These included the 15719 Katihar-Siliguri Intercity Express, 15720 Siliguri-Katihar Intercity Express, 12042 New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express, 12041 Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express, 15724 Siliguri-Jogbani Intercity Express, 05797 New Jalpaiguri-Malda Town Passenger Special, 05798 Malda Town-New Jalpaiguri Passenger Special (also on June 19), and 15710 New Jalpaiguri-Malda Town Express.
Three trains have been diverted, including the 20504 New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, the 13176 Silchar-Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express, and the 12523 New Jalpaiguri-New Delhi Superfast Express. The last one has been rescheduled to 12 pm.
Blame game
The chairperson of the Railway Board, Jaya Varma Sinha, told the media on Monday that the collision took place because the goods train driver overshot the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express.
She added that a guard's coach and two parcel vans of the Kanchanjunga Express were destroyed, preventing damage to passenger coaches.
However, later, documents showed that the goods train was given a written authority 'TA 912' by the station master of Ranipatra, allowing him to cross all red signals between Ranipatra station and Chattar Hat Junction, as the automatic signalling system between the two points had not been working since Monday morning.
The board, however, said though the driver of the goods train was given authorisation to cross all red signals between RNI and CAT as the automatic signalling system was “defective”, the train’s speed was above the permissible limit prescribed for this kind of a situation.
The goods train driver was “over-speeding” and due to this, it rammed into the Kanchanjunga Express between RNI and CAT, the board maintained.
However, the Railway Board did not give out the speed the goods train was travelling at on the section.
Meanwhile, other media reports quoting railway officials said that a combination of a signalling fault on the tracks before the New Jalpaiguri station and human error by the driver of the freight train are likely to have led to a deadly collision.
Compensation for train accident victims
A financial aid of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund (PMNRF) has been announced for the families of the deceased, and ₹ 50,000 for those injured.
Ashwini Vaishnaw too announced financial aid of ₹10 lakh to the families of the deceased, ₹2.5 lakh for those grievously injured and ₹50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries.