Title - Punjab Mail derails near Rohtak, 27 injured

Misfortune struck the passengers of Firozpur-Mumbai Punjab Mail train as eight bogies of the train derailed near Rohtak, Haryana, in the wee hours of Sunday.The mishap left at least 27 passengers injured, including seven women. The train which was headed toward New Delhi from Firozpur derailed around 3.50 am near Kharawar village on the Delhi-Rohtak railway section, about 14 km from Rohtak. Three persons reportedly sustained grievous injury, while 24 passengers received minor injuries. According to railway officials, Kapil (42), who was travelling in the general coach, sustained head injury. All the injured persons were admitted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) from where they were discharged after treatment.The exact reason behind the derailment will only be ascertained after the investigation, but the officials are not ruling out the possibility of sabotage. Officials said nearly 300 metres of railway track has been uprooted at the accident site, which pointed towards some foul play. “We are trying to ascertain whether the railway track broke due to the accident or whether the broken track led to the accident,” a railway official at the accident site said. Also, the damaged coaches of the train are being examined to find if the coaches had developed any defect or if they were ill-maintained. The railway authorities have instituted an inquiry into the incident. Commissioner Railway Safety, Northern Circle RK Kardam will hold the statutory inquiry into the accident.

The scene at the accident site was horrifying with coaches lying overturned on the parallel railway track, though no case of death was reported. It is understood that the train was moving at a slow pace which minimised the magnitude of the incident. Most of the passengers were sleeping when the bogies jumped the tracks. This brought the rail traffic on both the lines to a standstill. Thirty trains, including 16 local ones, were affected. They were either cancelled, diverted or short terminated. However, an official statement from the Northern Railways said while the up line was cleared for traffic at 6 pm, the down line could be opened for train movement by 10 pm.

Alok Mittal, Inspector General of Police of Rohtak range, said the incident took place around 3.50 am when the train was proceeding towards Delhi from Firozpur after crossing Rohtak junction. Out of 24, eight rear coaches of the Punjab Mail suddenly derailed due to some technical snag. The ill-fated bogies that derailed include sleeper coaches from S-5 to S-10, apart from the guard-cum-luggage van.

Senior officers of railway and Police Department, on getting information, rushed to the spot and took the injured to PGIMS after extricating them from the ill-fated train. A team of senior railway officials  headed by additional general manager of Northern Railway BP Gupta and DRM Delhi Ashwani Lohani also arrived at the site from Delhi and supervised the relief and rescue operation. “Someone on board had informed the police about the incident by making a call to the control room. Reacting to the information, we rushed to the spot and helped the railway officials in rescue operation,” said Mittal, adding that the railway officials took nearly two hours to clear the track and the ill-fated train with its unaffected front coaches proceeded towards its destination around 6 am.

“The exact reason behind the accident is still not known and that the coaches are being examined. The Railways Minister himself spoke to the driver as well as the hospital authorities this morning. The railways will bear the cost of treatment,” said the authority, adding that additional coaches were attached in place of the coaches derailed to accommodate all the passengers of the train for onward journey at the New Delhi railway station.