Crash blocks tracks, long-distance and suburban trains cancelled
Times of India | 18 June 2024
Kolkata/Siliguri: Even as operations of NJP-bound trains resumed at 5.40pm, work to restore the Sealdah-bound direction continued till late in the evening.
Several long-distance and suburban trains were cancelled on the New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri Junction, Bagdogra and Aluabari Road routes in the wake of the Kanchenjunga Express crash. The accident blocked both the Up and Down lines from north Bengal and the northeastern part of the country for more than nine hours.With the Down line unrestored till late in the evening, premium trains like Vande Bharat had to be diverted to an alternative parallel route.
Among the first things done was cutting-off the four derailed coaches of the Kanchenjunga Express from the remaining 19 unaffected coaches. “The train with the rest of the coaches then resumed the onward journey with around 1,000 passengers,” DRM, Sealdah, Dipak Nigam, said. “We are making arrangements to serve the rescued passengers dinner at Malda. They were provided food packets and other requirements along the way. We expect the train to reach Sealdah around 2.30-3am,” said Nigam.
Officials said restoration and rescue operation work were underway till late in the evening.
“Restoration work started around noon and was going on simultaneously with the rescue work. It’s difficult to say by when we expect the restoration work to be over,” said Sabyasachi De, chief public relations officer, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
Both Up and Down lines were blocked because the mangled coaches and the containers which were being transported in the goods train fell on the tracks. “Gas cutters were used to cut open the damaged coaches and check whether any passenger was trapped inside. Earth movers were deployed to remove the damaged coaches and containers from the tracks,” said the official. Several trains had to be either cancelled or diverted through the New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri-Bagdogra-Aluabari route.
“Around two dozen trains, including Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat Express, Guwahati-Howrah Saraighat Express, Guwahati-Jammu Tawi Lohit Express, Kamakhya-Delhi-Bramhaputra Mail and Guwahati-Bengaluru Express are being diverted,” a railway official said.
The diversions will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday. A few passenger trains like the New Jalpaiguri-Malda Town Passenger Special for Monday and Tuesday have been cancelled. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s Malda Town-NJP Passenger Special have been cancelled.