Bihar Train Accident: Railways Orders High-Level Inquiry; Over 20 Trains Diverted, 10 Cancelled Due To Ongoing Restoration Works

Around 1,500 passengers were in the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express, which derailed near Raghunathpur station around 9.53 pm on Wednesday, killing four persons and injuring over 70. A high-level inquiry has been initiated to ascertain the cause behind the incident. 

After the accident on Wednesday night, a total of 1,006 passengers boarded a relief train at Danapur to reach their destinations in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. They will reach their scheduled destinations by 11 pm today. States including Bihar and Meghalaya have launched their own helpline numbers for people of their state who were travelling in the North East Express on Wednesday.

Condolences poured in from various political leaders with some also urging the Centre to take steps to prevent such incidents. "The Centre will have to be alert to prevent such train accidents. It is worrying that such major accidents happen again and again," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X. Not too long ago, the Balasore train accident in Odisha killed nearly 300 people. 

Relief measures

The Meghalaya government has set up a helpline for the people of the state who were travelling in the North East Express. Officers of the Meghalaya government are also in touch with the railway authorities to ensure that people of the state who were travelling in that train, which was coming to Assam from Delhi, are provided assistance. In case any person needs assistance, the state authorities can be reached at 1800 345 3644.

The railways has also issued emergency helpline numbers for passengers. These are 9771449971 (Patna), 8905697493 (Danapur), 8306182542 (Ara), 8306182542 and 7759070004.

A railways official said alternative arrangements have been made to ferry passengers of the derailed train to their respective destinations. The relief train started at 5 am and is scheduled to reach Kamakhya at 11 pm today. 

An ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be given to the next of kin of each deceased, and Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured, East Central Railway's chief public relations officer Birendra Kumar said in a statement. The Bihar government also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the deceased. Of the four dead, one was from Bihar.

Inquiry ordered, trains diverted

While the cause behind the derailment of the train was not immediately known, media reports quoting officials pointed towards poor track maintenance or fault in the track changing point. Chief Public Relations Officer of East Central Railway zone Birendra Kumar told PTI that the derailment took place near Raghunathpur station where the train does not have a scheduled stoppage.

However, complete details of the causes will only be known after the investigation, officials said. ECR general manager Tarun Prakash, who was in Raghunathpur to supervise the restoration works, told PTI that the priority is to clear the tracks. "The cause of derailment will be known only after a proper investigation. At present our priority is to clear the tracks. Until normal traffic is restored, trains running on the route will be diverted," he said. Indian Railways cancelled ten trains and diverted 21 trains after the accident.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav issued a statement stating that the departments of disaster management and health have been asked to take immediate steps to ensure the quickest possible relief to as many people as possible. 

In the Odisha train crash, Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed that the lapses in the 'signalling-circuit-alteration' lead to wrong signals which caused the trains to collide in Balasore on June 2. The accident was one of the worst train crashes in two decades in Odisha.