In a tragic incident near New Jalpaiguri station, a goods train allegedly ignored a signal and collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express at 8:55 am on Monday. The impact caused four passenger bogies and five freight containers to derail, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and injuries to 41 others. This accident bears a chilling resemblance to the Balasore three-train crash in Odisha last June, which claimed 296 lives.
Five of the nine fatalities were passengers in a general compartment located ahead of two parcel vans, which bore the brunt of the collision between Rangapani and Chattar Hat stations, approximately 11 km from New Jalpaiguri. Four passenger trains had traversed the same stretch just minutes before the accident.
Among the deceased were loco pilot, Anil Kumar of the goods train, Kanchanjungha Express guard Ashish Dey, State Excise Inspector, Kaleb Subba, Railway Employee, Shankar Mohan Das, and Passengers, Subhajit Mali and Beauty Begum. The identities of three victims remained unknown as of late evening.
The derailment caused the derailed bogies and cargo containers to fall onto an adjacent track, halting rail traffic on the only route connecting Guwahati and the Northeast with the rest of India. Notably, the railways’ automatic anti-collision system, Kavach, has not yet been installed on this busy route.
Railway Board Chairperson and CEO, Jaya Varma Sinha suggested that a “human error” by the deceased goods train loco pilot might have caused the collision. Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at the accident site, announced that a detailed inquiry by the Commission of Railway Safety would determine the exact cause. “The railway accident is saddening. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to officials and took stock of the situation,” PM Modi posted on X.
The Prime Minister’s Office initially announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of each deceased. Later, Vaishnaw stated that families of each deceased would receive Rs 10 lakh, those with serious injuries would get Rs 2.5 lakh, and those with minor injuries would receive Rs 50,000.
West Bengal, Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee criticized the railways for neglecting passenger safety, accusing them of prioritizing fare hikes over security measures.
A passenger from one of the middle compartments recounted the chaotic aftermath: “Passengers were running helter-skelter. There were screams all around. We got off the train and ran towards the rear. What we saw was shocking. One bogie had turned over, another appeared to be hanging in the air. A third was mangled.”
Local residents were the first to respond, followed by police, railway, and administrative officials, along with National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel. Heavy rain in Siliguri since the morning hampered rescue operations. A control room has been established at New Jalpaiguri.
This accident echoes the devastating crash on June 2 last year, where a speeding Coromandel Express collided with a stationary goods train, leading to a three-train pile-up that killed 300 people.
