Most passengers of derailed North East Express return home by relief train
At least four passengers died and several were injured when 23 coaches of the North East Express derailed near Raghunathpur around 9.53 pm on Wednesday
A total of 1,006 passengers of the derailed North East Express have reached their respective destinations by a relief train, railway officials have said.
Around 1,500 passengers were on the North East Express when it started its 33-hour journey from Delhi’s Anand Vihar station for Kamakhya in Assam’s Guwahati on Wednesday (October 11) morning, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De told news agency PTI.
The train derailed in Bihar’s Buxar district on Wednesday night. “The next morning, 1,006 passengers boarded a relief train at Danapur to reach their destinations in Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam,” he added.
Train reaches Kamakhya
At 1 am on Friday (October 13), the special relief train reached Kamakhya, where 311 passengers got off. The other passengers disembarked at their respective stations en route, De said.
“Around 1,500 passengers boarded the train when it started in Delhi at 7.40 am on Wednesday. The number is a little high because those with partial tickets or those who were on the wait list also boarded,” he added.
The CPRO said, “The relief train started at 5 am on Thursday and was scheduled to reach Kamakhya at 11 pm.” The relief train stopped only at the scheduled stoppages of the North East Express, he added.
The passengers were provided with meals and refreshments, and medical check-ups were conducted during the journey. The railways will also arrange for their travel by road from Kamakhya station till their home towns, he added.
Helplines
At least four passengers died and several were injured when 23 coaches of the train derailed near Raghunathpur station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday, according to the Indian Railways.
De said no train from Assam has been cancelled so far due to the accident.
He said the NFR has started helplines in different stations — Guwahati (03612731621/22/23), Kamakhya (03612674857), Katihar (9608815880) and New Jalpaiguri (8170034242).
The Kamrup Metropolitan district administration, which administers Guwahati, has also set up an emergency helpline (9365429314), and asked people to contact for assistance.
(With agency inputs)
