Goods train hits stationary freight coaches in Bengal’s Bankura, none hurt

Train movement was restored at 8.30 am in the section, after urgent repair work was carried out

Several boggies derailed after two goods trains collided with each other near West Bengal's Bankura, in the wee hours of Sunday, June 25, 2023.: PTI

PTI, Calcutta, 25.06.23 :  A goods train collided with another stationary freight train at Onda in Bankura district of West Bengal on Sunday morning, a senior South Eastern Railway official said.

No one was injured in the accident, which affected train services in the Adra division of SER for over four hours, he said.

At least eight wagons derailed due to the collision, which happened around 4 am, the official said.

Train movement at Onda in the Midnapore-Adra section of Adra division was restored at 8.30 am, after urgent repair work was carried out, he said.

The derailed wagons were removed from the tracks on war footing, and the first passenger train to pass was the 18011 Howrah-Chakradharpur express at 8.35 am, he said.

The incident comes weeks after the train disaster at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha's Balasore district on June 2 in which 288 people were killed and hundreds injured.

Onda is around 250 km away from Bahanaga Bazar.

The SER official said the likely cause of Sunday’s accident was that the driver of the moving goods train had overshot the home signal at Onda, which was red.

The train then went into the loop line, for which the point was likely to have been set on the tracks, and hit the stationary freight wagons, he said.

An enquiry will be held to pinpoint the cause of the incident.

At least 20 express and passenger trains were cancelled and some others were diverted via other routes due to the accident, he added.