Editor's Pick | Several killed in train accident in Darjeeling district

At least nine, including two railway crew members, were killed and several injured on Monday when a goods train carrying containers collided with the 13174 Down Agartala Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express between Rangapani and Chattar Hat stations in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. The accident took place about 10 km from the New Jalpaiguri station in the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway at 8.55 a.m. on Monday. A goods train moving with speed on the same track as the Kanchanjunga Express overshot the railway signal and hit the rear end of the Express, which was travelling at a slow speed. The force of the impact saw four coaches of the Express and five wagons of the goods train get derailed, blocking train movement on both the up and down lines. The guard’s cabin and two parcel vans of the Express climbed onto the bogies of the goods train owing to the collision, and the coaches were badly mangled. Investigations have noted that the automatic signalling between Ranipatra and Chattar Hat was down from 5.50 am on the day of the accident. Further, documents made available to The Hindu revealed that the Station Master of the Rangapani railway station issued Travel Authority (TA-912) authorising the locopilot of the goods to cross all signals in red. Rescue and extrication of passengers proved a struggle. Nine were fatally injured while at least 32 were injured. Chairperson of the Railway Board Jaya Varma Sinha shared that the loco pilot of the goods train and the guard of Kanchanjunga Express also died in the accident. She added, “We have to control human error and [installation of] Kavach is the most important thing on which work is going on in mission mode. So far, we have introduced Kavach for 1,500 km and another 3,000 km will be completed this year.” The railway network in West Bengal is part of the 3,000 km of track across the country scheduled to be brought under the Kavach framework this year, she said. Kavach refers to a made-in-India technology to prevent collisions of trains travelling on the same track. The Kanchanjunga Express had left Agartala in Tripura at 8.15 am on June 16 and was expected to arrive at Sealdah at 7.30 pm on June 17. The rest of the train, along with passengers, left for Sealdah at 12.40 pm on June 17. Calling the accident “saddening,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived at the accident site and took stock of the rescue and relief operations. He met the injured at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Ex gratia of ₹10 lakh for the families of the casualties, ₹2.5 lakh towards the seriously injured, and ₹50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries have been announced. The accident is expected to be investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also visited the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and met the injured. She blamed the Railways for the tragedy, saying the Ministry had become “totally parentless.” Ms. Banerjee, who was Railway Minister under the UPA-II government, said she had devised an anti-collision device but it had not been implemented in the country. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also questioned the Union government, saying that in the past 10 years, “the Modi government has indulged in the utter mismanagement of the Railway Ministry” and had converted it into “a platform of ‘camera-driven’ self-promotion.” The accident comes a little over a year after the terrible Coromandel Express accident in Odisha on June 2, 2023, in which 290 people were killed. Human error and signalling issues were held responsible for the tragedy which involved three trains and turned out to be among the biggest train accidents in the country. The delay in installation of the anti-collision Kavach system was raised during the Coromandel Express accident. Rail movement in north Bengal and northeastern States remains impacted post the accident. Work to restore the line remains in progress. Read more about the accident and rescue here. 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[View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Several killed in train accident in Darjeeling district At least nine, including two railway crew members, were killed and several injured on Monday when a goods train carrying containers collided with the 13174 Down Agartala Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express between Rangapani and Chattar Hat stations in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. [The accident took place about 10 km from the New Jalpaiguri station]( in the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway at 8.55 a.m. on Monday. A goods train moving with speed on the same track as the Kanchanjunga Express overshot the railway signal and hit the rear end of the Express, which was travelling at a slow speed. The force of the impact saw four coaches of the Express and five wagons of the goods train get derailed, blocking train movement on both the up and down lines. The guard’s cabin and two parcel vans of the Express climbed onto the bogies of the goods train owing to the collision, and the coaches were badly mangled. Investigations have noted that the automatic signalling between Ranipatra and Chattar Hat was [down from 5.50 am on the day of the accident]( Further, documents made available to The Hindu revealed that the Station Master of the Rangapani railway station issued Travel Authority (TA-912) [authorising the locopilot of the goods to cross all signals in red]( Rescue and extrication of passengers proved a struggle. Nine were fatally injured while at least 32 were injured. Chairperson of the Railway Board Jaya Varma Sinha shared that the loco pilot of the goods train and the guard of Kanchanjunga Express also died in the accident. She added, “We have to control human error and [installation of] Kavach is the most important thing on which work is going on in mission mode. So far, we have introduced Kavach for 1,500 km and another 3,000 km will be completed this year.” The railway network in West Bengal is part of the 3,000 km of track across the country scheduled to be brought under the Kavach framework this year, she said. Kavach refers to a made-in-India technology to prevent collisions of trains travelling on the same track. The Kanchanjunga Express had left Agartala in Tripura at 8.15 am on June 16 and was expected to arrive at Sealdah at 7.30 pm on June 17. The rest of the train, along with passengers, left for Sealdah at 12.40 pm on June 17. Calling the accident “saddening,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived at the accident site and took stock of the rescue and relief operations. He met the injured at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Ex gratia of ₹10 lakh for the families of the casualties, ₹2.5 lakh towards the seriously injured, and ₹50,000 for those who sustained minor injuries have been announced. The accident is expected to be investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also visited the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and met the injured. She blamed the Railways for the tragedy, saying the Ministry had become “totally parentless.” Ms. Banerjee, who was Railway Minister under the UPA-II government, said she had devised an anti-collision device but it had not been implemented in the country. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also [questioned the Union government]( saying that in the past 10 years, “the Modi government has indulged in the utter mismanagement of the Railway Ministry” and had converted it into “a platform of ‘camera-driven’ self-promotion.” The accident comes a little over a year after the terrible Coromandel Express accident in Odisha on June 2, 2023, in which 290 people were killed. Human error and signalling issues were held responsible for the tragedy which involved three trains and turned out to be among the biggest train accidents in the country. The delay in installation of the anti-collision Kavach system was raised during the Coromandel Express accident. Rail movement in north Bengal and northeastern States remains impacted post the accident. Work to restore the line remains in progress. [Read more about the accident and rescue here]( The Hindu’s Editorial [Arrow][Trade trapeze: On India’s exports]( [Arrow][Negotiating for peace: On the ‘Summit on Peace’, in Burgenstock]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz - Kiren Rijiju - Giriraj Singh - Pralhad Joshi - C.R. 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