Following the Kanchenjunga Express accident that claimed eight lives and injured 25 people, several trains were cancelled while some were diverted on Tuesday, officials said. According to an official release from the Northeast Frontier Railways, five trains, including (15719) Katihar-Siliguri Intercity Express, (15720) Siliguri-Katihar Intercity Express, (12042) New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express, (12041) Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express and (15724) Siliguri-Jogbani Intercity Express have been cancelled for today.
Train number 12523 from New Jalpaiguri to New Delhi Superfast Express has been rescheduled to leave at 12.00 hrs, as per the release by Northeast Frontier Railways Chief Public Relations officer Sabyasachi De.
As per the railways, train number 20504 from New Delhi–Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, 13176 from Silchar–Sealedah Kanchanjungha Express, and 12523 from New Jalpaiguri–New Delhi Superfast Express were diverted.
Subhendu Kumar Choudhary, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Katihar Northeast Frontier Railway, said, “Restoration work has been going on since last night. The trail of an engine was carried out upline along with two goods trains and one Shatabdi train towards NJP (New Jalpaiguri Junction) yesterday. Since it is an accident site, the trial was done with some caution. Within half an hour, the line beside it will also be restored.”
Meanwhile, Kanchanjungha Express, arrived at its destination station, Sealdah in Kolkata, in the early hours today after the completion of restoration work.
A goods train allegedly disregarded a signal and hit the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express near North Bengal’s Jalpaiguri station at 8.55 am on Monday. The accident took place in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district. At least eight people died and over 25 people were injured in the accident.
A passenger who was present on the train when it met with an accident expressed concern and fear as she recalled the tragic incident. “I was in S7 when this accident took place. We are very afraid after this accident. My parents are also worried,” she said. Kanchanjungha Express runs between Silchar in Assam to Sealdah in Kolkata. (ANI)