Howrah-CSMT Express accident: Railway announces ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for kin of deceased

"We are continuously witnessing railway accidents but our Railway Minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) or should I say 'Reel Minister' is busy in promoting himself. He goes on cars, bikes and make videos. It is shameful that there is no accountability," said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Seraikela Kharsawan SP, Mukesh Lunayat said, "...All the injured have been rescued and admitted to the hospital. The NDRF team has also reached the spot and almost 300 police personnel have been deployed...The rescue operation is almost complete and we are moving towards the restoration process..."

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose expressed anguish over the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailment in Jharkhand, in which two persons lost their lives. He extended condolences to the families of those killed in the accident and wished speedy recovery of the injured people.

"HG (Honourable Governor) has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes fast recovery of those injured in the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailment near Jharkhand's Chakradharpur today," Raj Bhavan posted on the X.

Due to derailment of the Howrah-CSMT Mumbai mail train in Chakradharour division in Jharkhand, 17 trains have been diverted, as per South Eastern Railway.

Railway announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for kin of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh for those with major injuries.

On train derailment in Jharkhand, JMM MP Dr Mahua Maji said, "I ask the Central government, what is it even doing when railway accidents are happening continuously? Are they answerable to the public or not?"

RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "People thank God when a day passes without any train accident. Tall claims were made regarding 'Kavach' in the last Budget. This time, it was not even mentioned. I would like to ask how much distance has been covered under 'Kavach' cover or was that just for media management? I think Government is not bothered even after such accidents..."

“Railway incidents are continuously happening. It’s the negligence of the government. It should make strict arrangements. A discussion on this should happen in the House (Rajya Sabha),” said Samajwadi Party leader Javed Ali Khan. 

“Help desks have been set up at all the stations through which this train passed. The number of the help desk set up at Chhatrapati Shivaji Station is 02222694040. Help desk number at Nagpur station is 7757912790.  Like this, help desk numbers have been provided for every station. We have tried to share these numbers with people through the social media platform of Central Railway” said Central Railway CPRO Swapnil D Nila.

On a railway accident in Jharkhand and a landslide in Kerala, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said, "It seems that the government wants to make a record in every field. A record is also going to be made of the number of paper leaks. Despite the govt's claims of safety and security and a big budget, why are accidents happening? Some time ago, India participated in COP29 & G20 was also held...Uttarakhand has also seen landslides. The government should tell what it is doing to tackle such incidents."

"How many people should die, get injured before the Modi government would wake up and realise that they are not doing anything for the railway security. Where is railway minister...where is PM Modi," said TMC MP Sagarika Ghose.

"The train was derailed at around 3:43 am. The rescue operation is now complete. Till now 80 per cent of passengers have been taken to Chakradharpur station by bus...from there the passengers will be sent to their destination in a special train at around 10:30 am," said South Eastern Railway CPRO Om Prakash Charan. 

Train Manager South Eastern Railway, Md. Rehan said, "Around 3.39 am, the train got derailed and many people got injured in the incident...The incident happened as a Goods Train had already derailed in the downline and Howrah-CSMT Express was moving at 120 kmph...The upline is affected..."

Injured passengers were brought to the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur. 

 A help desk has been set up at Howrah Railway Junction, West Bengal.

Due to the derailment of 12810 Howrah-Mumbai mail, 5 trains were cancelled and 4 short terminated/short originated, informed South Eastern Railway.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "Another disastrous rail accident! Howrah- Mumbai mail derails in Chakradharpur division in Jharkhand today early morning, multiple deaths and huge number of injuries are the tragic consequences. I seriously ask: is this governance? This series of nightmares almost every week, this unending procession of deaths and injuries on railway tracks: for how long shall we tolerate this? Will there be no end to the callousness of Government of India?!  My heart goes out to the bereaved families, condolences to the next of kin."

80 percent of passengers transshipped to  Chakardharpur station by bus. ⁠One rescue train also reached at site to clear the rest of the passengers. Passengers arrived at CKP Railway station (Chakardharpur), as per the Indian Railways.

This is the third major rail accident in Jharkhand in the past six months:

- On January 18, 2024, four people were killed when the Utkal Express struck at Gamharia railway station.
- On February 28, 2024, another train accident occurred between Jamtara and Vidyasagar stations, resulting in the deaths of two people.

Today's derailment in Chakradharpur has so far claimed the lives of two individuals.

(Input: Anamika Gaur)

Ten passengers are reported to be seriously injured in the derailment.

Helpline numbers

The Railways has made special arrangements to transport passengers from the accident site, which include coaching rake and buses.

List of trains short terminated:

• 18114 Bilaspur-Tata Express has been short terminated at Rourkela.
• 18190 Ernakulam-Tata Express has been short terminated at Chakradharpur.
• 18011 Howrah-Chakradharpur Express has been short terminated at Agra.

List of trains cancelled

• 22861 Howrah-Kantabaji Express
• 08015/18019 Kharagpur-Dhanbad Express
• 12021/12022 Howrah-Barbil Express

Helpline Numbers

• Tatanagar: 06572290324
• Chakradharpur: 06587238072
• Rourkela: 06612501072, 06612500244
• Howrah: 9433357920, 03326382217
• Ranchi: 0651-27-87115.
• HWH Help Desk: 033-26382217, 9433357920
• SHM Help Desk: 6295531471, 7595074427
• KGP Help Desk: 03222-293764
• CSMT Helpline Auto no 55993
• P&T 022-22694040
• Mumbai: 022-22694040
• Nagpur: 7757912790

An investigation has been ordered into the rail accident. A team from the engineering department has also been dispatched to examine the incident.

The accident occurred when the Howrah-Mumbai Mail collided with derailed wagons from a goods train on the same section of track, which had gone off the rails two days earlier. This collision led to several coaches of the passenger train also derailing. The incident happened near pole number 219 on the Howrah-Mumbai railway line, close to Chakradharpur. As a result, rail operations on the Tatanagar-Chakradharpur section of the South Eastern Railway have been completely halted. Many trains have been cancelled, and some are being rerouted to alternative paths.

The injured passengers have been admitted to RIMS Hospital in Ranchi, as well as to government and private hospitals in the vicinity of Chakradharpur.

Relief and rescue operations are currently underway at the site of the train accident near Chakradharpur on the Howrah-Mumbai route. The rescue efforts have started, with local police and railway employees actively assisting the passengers.

The train derailed between Rajkharsawan and Badabambo stations under the South Eastern Railway. The Howrah-Mumbai train went off the tracks at 3:45 am.

At least two people have been killed and nearly 150 were injured after 18 coaches of the Howrah-CSMT Express derailed near Chakradharpur in Jharkhand.

As many as 18 coaches of the Howrah-CSMT Express train derailed near Chakradharpur in Jharkhand in the early hours of Tuesday.