Kanchenjunga accident: Several trains cancelled and diverted after the Kanchenjunga Express train accident in West Bengal

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), based in Guwahati’s Maligaon, has diverted 22 passenger trains from the route where a goods train hit the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express, killing nine people.

Also read: Accident on the Kanchanjunga Express: According to the railway authorities, the driver of a freight train ignored the speed limits

The accident on June 17 occurred in the Rangapani-Chattarhat section of the Katihar division of the NFR.

NFR spokesperson Sabyasachi De said diversion of these trains, including the New Delhi–Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express and the Silchar–Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express, would mean covering 26 kilometres more than the normal route via Rangapani and Chattarhat in Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

“The Up line (towards Guwahati) at the accident site was restored at 5.40 pm on June 17 and the Down line (towards Sealdah/Delhi) was restored at 7.30 am today (June 18). The Avadh Assam Express was the first train to pass the accident site at 10 am on the Down line.

However, a large number of trains were diverted via the Aluabari-Siliguri-New Jalpaiguri route to reduce the pressure on the affected section and to clear the backlog of trains that were delayed or stranded due to the accident.

“Though the track has been restored, trains have to run on it at limited speed. The diversion of most of the trains is to ensure that their schedule is not severely affected,” a railway official said.

It would normally take 24 hours for the ballast under the tracks to become stable. After that, the trains could run at normal speed again, the official explained.

Apart from the diversion, the NFR cancelled six trains – two Shatabdis and six intercity trains – and shifted the New Jalpaiguri-New Delhi Superfast Express to another train.

Kanchanjungha Express arrives at Sealdah

Meanwhile, the Kanchanjungha Express reached its destination station Sealdah in Kolkata in the early hours today after completion of the restoration work.

“The 13174 Kanchanjunga Express from Tripura’s capital Agartala, which was scheduled to reach Sealdah at 7.20 pm on Monday, reached its destination eight hours late at 3.16 am,” the ER official said.

The unfortunate passengers, who had gone through the ordeal and horror of the accident, were provided medical assistance, food and water at various railway stations including Malda town and also Sealdah during the journey, he said.

The state transport department has provided buses and small vehicles to the passengers at Sealdah railway station to ensure they reach home without any hassle, a state government official said.

Mayor of Calcutta criticizes centre

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim spoke to the passengers who had arrived by train. The mayor criticised the central government for “not taking any action” on the accident.

“It is bad that the central government is not doing anything. They (BJP-led central government) are playing with people’s lives, they are waiting for some incident to happen. Why are they not paying attention to this issue, why are they waiting for people to die? All this because they (BJP government) want to privatise the railways,” he added.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also previously sharply criticised the central government for its alleged negligence towards the railways. The Kanchanjungha Express runs between Silchar in Assam and Sealdah in Calcutta.

(With contributions from ANI, PTI)