The Kolkata-Sairang Express derailment near Digaru railway station in Assam’s Kamrup (Metropolitan) district on Wednesday left passengers shaken, with a crew member describing how the train continued travelling for nearly a kilometre after going off the tracks.
The chief minister added that basic necessities had been provided to passengers stranded following the accident and that an alternative train had been arranged to take them to their destinations. A recovery train was also dispatched to the site to carry out rescue operations and clear the affected tracks. The pantry car manager said passengers were asleep at around 5 am and that everything appeared normal until the train halted at Guwahati.
Recalling the moments before the accident, he said the train slowed down as it approached Digaru station, following which passengers heard an unidentified sound. The accident took place as the Kolkata-Sairang Express was entering Digaru railway station, according to a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson. The loco pilot had given precedence to another train but was unable to control the speed, resulting in the derailment, the spokesperson said. “This resulted in an unfortunate incident of derailment, in which the locomotive along with 5 coaches derailed,” the spokesperson said. Railway authorities arranged an alternative train to transport passengers to their destinations, the spokesperson said.
