Northeast’s main rail link back on track: An engine pulled away the electric loco of the derailed train on Saturday

An engine pulled away the electric loco of the derailed train on Saturday

Workers restore overhead power supply to the damaged tracks on Saturday. : Biplab Basak

TT Correspondent   |   Jalpaiguri   |   16.01.22  : The Northeast’s main rail link with the rest of the country was restored on Saturday, two days after the train derailment in Jalpaiguri district.

Nine persons were killed and 36 injured when 12 coaches of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express jumped tracks between New Domohoni and New Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri district on Thursday.

“Train movement resumed along the second pair of tracks (beside the pair on which the derailment took place) on Saturday. Around 2.05am today, a goods train passed through the tracks. Later at 11.53am, the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express passed through the affected section,” a source in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said.

With the pair of tracks damaged by the derailment being repaired, the other set of tracks on which cranes and other equipment had been stationed were cleared, allowing train movement. A 1km stretch of tracks had broken because of the accident.

“Our engineers, along with workers, are carrying out the restoration work on a war footing. The repair of overhead electric wires and masts, which had snapped due to the accident, is in progress and will be completed soon,” the NFR source said.

V.K. Tripathi, chairman of the Railway Board, said: “The damaged stretch of the tracks has been repaired and new rails and slippers have been laid. Trains will start running on the (damaged) tracks soon.”

An engine pulled away the electric loco of the derailed train on Saturday. It will be kept at New Jalpaiguri station for an investigation, sources said.

On Friday, rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had visited the accident spot and had hinted at mechanical fault in an equipment of the loco as the probable cause of the derailment. 

atif Khan, the commissioner of railway safety, visited the super-specialty hospital in Jalpaiguri town where the injured passengers are admitted. He recorded their statements and proceeded to Alipurduar to speak to the loco pilot and co-pilot of the derailed train, the sources said.

“A statutory inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety has been ordered to find out the cause of the derailment. Any person having knowledge of the accident or any other related matter and intends to provide evidence can approach the authorities concerned. The report is expected to be submitted shortly,” an official said.

A team of forensic experts will visit the site on Monday, the sources said.

On Saturday, the crowd of onlookers thinned. RPF personnel dispersed those who tried to go close to the tracks to see the repair work.

Additional reporting by Avijit Sinha in Siliguri