Five wagons of a loaded goods train derailed near Kumedpur station in West Bengal’s Malda district, a senior official said. Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De told PTI that the derailment took place around 10.45 am.
“A total of five wagons derailed and no one was injured,” he added.
The goods trains (DN IORG/BTPN/LD 70649) derailed while passing Kumedpur station of Katihar division and completely blocked the main line, a source at NFR said.
“The Accident Relief Train (ART) was called from Katihar immediately and it is engaged in restoration of the track. One passenger train, which was stranded after the incident, was taken back to Katihar. It will restart its journey after track restoration,” he added.
A senior official said the reason for the derailment may be “engineering issue” related to track problem, but it will be known after a detailed enquiry.
Katihar Divisional Railway Manager Surendra Kumar said the petrol-laden goods train was going from New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal to Katihar in Bihar.
“Five tankers of the petrol-laden goods train from New Jalpaiguri to Katihar derailed near Kumedpur railway station. The derailed bogies disrupted rail traffic between New Jalpaiguri and Katihar. The down line has been cleared for the movement of rail traffic… Railway traffic will soon be restored on the up line,” Kumar told PTI.
“The exact reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained… a high-level inquiry has been ordered,” the DRM added.