Five wagons of a loaded goods train derailed near Kumedpur station in West Bengal's Malda district on Friday morning, causing significant disruption to rail traffic, according to a senior official. The derailment occurred around 10:45 am, as reported by Sabyasachi De, the Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
“A total of five wagons derailed, but fortunately, no one was injured,” De confirmed. The goods train, identified as DN IORG/BTPN/LD 70649, was passing through Kumedpur station in the Katihar division when the derailment happened, completely blocking the main line.
'Derailment could be due to engineering issue'
Meanwhile, a senior official hinted that the derailment could be due to an "engineering issue" related to a track problem. However, he added that though a detailed inquiry will be conducted to determine the exact cause.
"The exact cause of the incident is yet to be confirmed and that a high-level inquiry has been ordered to investigate the matter," Katihar Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Surendra Kumar said.
"Five tankers of the petrol-laden goods train derailed near Kumedpur railway station, disrupting rail traffic between New Jalpaiguri and Katihar. The down line has since been cleared for rail traffic, and restoration of the up line is underway," he further added.
'Railway traffic disrupted'
Moreover, a source within NFR disclosed that the Accident Relief Train (ART) was immediately dispatched from Katihar to the site and is actively engaged in restoring the track. Due to the incident, a passenger train that had been stranded was taken back to Katihar and will resume its journey once the track restoration is complete.
(With inputs from PTI)
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