At least 233 people have died and over 900 injured in a tragic rail accident involving Coromandel Express and the SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express on Friday night, in one of the worst train accidents in India in last decade. Multiple agencies are still trying to rescue the passengers from the mangled train coaches.
Here is a list of some major train accidents that has taken place in last 15 years.
1. 2010, Jnaneswari Express: At least 148 passengers of the Mumbai-bound express train died after a few coaches got derailed between Khemashuli and Sardhia stations of South Eastern Railway after midnight May 28, 2010, and toppled on the adjacent tracks. A goods train coming from the opposite direction within a few minutes ploughed through the coaches. More than 200 passengers were injured.
It was alleged that Maoists had damaged the tracks which led to the tragedy in West Bengal.
2. 2010, Uttar Banga Express and Vananchal Express: On July 19, 2010 the Uttar Banga Express and the Vananchal Express rammed into each other in West Bengal’s Sainthia leaving about 63 dead and injuring over 165 people.
3. 2011, Chhapra-Mathura Express: On July 7, 2011, Chhapra-Mathura Express collided with a bus near Etah district in Uttar Pradesh.
In the accident, 69 people died and many were severely injured. The accident took place at around 1:55 a.m. at an unmanned level crossing. The train was running at high speed and the bus was dragged for about half a kilometre.
4. 2012, Hubli-Banglore Hampi Express: On May 23, 2012, the Hubli-Bangalore Hampi Express collided with a goods train near Andhra Pradesh. Following the mishap, four coaches derailed, and one of them caught fire, killing about 25 passengers and charring several others. 43 people were left injured in the accident.
5. 2012, Tamil Nadu Express: On July 30, 2012, a coach of Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express caught fire near Nellore, leaving more than 30 people dead.
6. 2014, Gorakhdham Express: On May 26, 2014, the Sant Kabir Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh, the Gorakhdham Express headed towards Gorakhpur collided with a halted goods train near Khalilabad station, leaving 25 dead and more than 50 injured.
7. 2015, Janata Express accident: A major accident took place in the Janata Express travelling from Dehradun to Varanasi on March 20, 2015. Over 30 people were killed and around 150 others injured when the engine and two adjoining coaches of the train derailed near Bachrawan Railway Station in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
8. 2016, Patna-Indore Express: 19321 Indore-Patna Express derailed near Pukhrayan, Kanpur, on November 20, 2016, killing at least 150 people and injuring more than 150 others.
9. 2017 Kalinga-Utkal Express accident: On August 19, 2017, the Kalinga Utkal Express running between Haridwar and Puri met with an accident near Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. 14 coaches of the train derailed killing 21 passengers while 97 were left injured.
10. 2017, Kaifiyat Express: On August 23, 2017 nine train coaches of the Delhi-bound Kaifiyat Express derailed near Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh, causing at least 70 injuries. None of the passengers died in this train accident.
11. 2022, Bikaner-Guwahati Express: On January 13, 2022, at least 12 coaches of the Bikaner-Guwahati Express derailed in West Bengal’s Alipurdar, in which 9 people died and 36 were injured.
Even one of Indian Railways premium train Rajdhani Express met one of its worst fate in 2002.
The 2301 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Rafiganj station between Gaya and Dehri-on-Sone stations in Bihar at 10.40 p.m. killing over 140 people after 14 coaches of the plunged into the Dhawa river on the night of September 10, 2002.
The Railways has been focusing on the safety of train passengers in last few years and has upgraded the railway tracks and also installed a device named ‘kavach’ to save trains from head on collision. The Railways also removed all the unmanned level crossings on its broad guage network.
However, Friday’s accident involving the Coromandel Express and the SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express trains has put the spotlight once again on track safety despite several efforts by the Indian Railways.
20230603-093403
