Two trains cancelled, 21 diverted as North East Express derails in Bihar

Buxar (Bihar): Indian Railways cancelled two trains and diverted 21 trains after six coaches of 12506 Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express derailed near the Raghunathpur station in Bihar's Buxar district on Wednesday in which at least four people were killed and 50 others were injured.

The derailment occurred at 9:53 pm and at least two AC III Tier coaches had toppled over while four other coaches jumped the tracks, television visuals showed. Buxar Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar told PTI four passengers had died in the accident. A Railway Police Force official said at least 50 passengers have been injured and shifted to local hospitals.

According to a statement issued by the East Central Railway zone, trains that have been cancelled include: Kashi Patna Jan Shatabdi Express (15125) and Patna Kashi Jan Shatabdi Express (15126).

Trains that have been diverted onto alternate routes include: Pune-Danapur SF Express (12149), Patliputra SF Express (12141), Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express (12424), Vikramshila Express (12368), Kamakhya Express (15623), Guwahati Express (15633), Rajendra Nagar Terminal Tejas Rajdhani Express (12310), Bhagalpur Garib Rath Express (22406), Anvt Rdp Express (22488), among others.

The railways has also issued emergency helpline numbers for passengers. These are 9771449971 (Patna), 8905697493 (Danapur), 8306182542 (Ara), 8306182542 and 7759070004. Other helpline numbers for passengers are: New Delhi (01123341074, 9717631960), Anand Vihar Terminal (9717632791), Commercial Control Delhi Division ( 9717633779), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (9794849461, 8081206628), Commercial Control of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (8081212134), Pryagraj (0532-2408128, 0532-2407353, 0532-2408149), Fatehpur (05180-222026, 05180-222025, 05180-222436), Kanpur (0512-2323016, 0512-2323015, 0512-2323018), Etawah (7525001249), Tundala (05612-220338, 05612-220339, 05612-220337) and Aligarh (0571-2409348).

The 23-coach train had departed the Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi at 7:40 am on Wednesday for its nearly 33-hour journey to Kamakhya, about six kilometres away from Guwahati. Television visuals showed locals rushing to the rescue of the passengers and helping them come out of at least two toppled coaches. The visuals also showed a woman passenger in a state of shock being helped out of a coach by locals.

"Rescue operation going on at war footing at Buxar derailment site. NDRF, SDRF, District administration, Railway officials, and local residents are all working as one team. Injured shifted to hospital. War room operating," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X. He said rescue operations would be completed soon which will be followed by the restoration of the tracks.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav issued a statement saying 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. "I have also spoken to the district magistrates of Buxar and Bhojpur (where Ara is headquartered) with instructions to reach the site at the earliest and speed up relief work," he added.

Chief Public Relations Officer of East Central Railway zone Birendra Kumar told PTI that the accident took place less than half an hour after the train left the Buxar station and was headed for Ara. "The derailment took place near Raghunathpur station where the train does not have a scheduled stoppage," he said. Relief measures were initiated immediately after the incident, with ambulances and doctors rushing to the site.

A scratch rake has been dispatched from Patna to ferry passengers from the accident site, the official said. A scratch rake is a temporary rake with a similar configuration as the original train. "Medical teams have been sent to the spot," Deepak Kumar, Inspector, Railway Police Force, told reporters, adding that the district administration had alerted local hospitals in Buxar town.