Bihar train mishap: Guard claims driver applied emergency brakes before derailment

Patna, October 13

The security guard of the North East Express that derailed in Bihar has claimed that the driver had applied emergency brakes which led to the mishap.

“I don’t know why he applied the emergency brakes. As a result, the train took severe jolts several times and then I lost consciousness. I gathered consciousness after some time. The train was travelling at the speed of 128 kmph,” said Vijay Kumar, the guard of North East Express train.

The accident that took place at 9.53 pm on Wednesday claimed four lives and 30 people were injured. Besides, around 100 passengers sustained minor injuries.

Tarun Prakash, the general manager of East Central Railway, earlier suspected that the track was dislocated at some places. However, he was not sure about it, but he said that this could be the reason that the driver had applied the emergency brakes on the train.

“We have the standard procedure to investigate such an accident. A high-level expert committee is investigating the accident. The track was dislocated or not cannot be said at this point. We have to wait for the probe report,” Prakash said.

“The East Central Railway is completely shut at the moment. The repair work is under way. We have brought big cranes and earth mover machines to reinstall the tracks and restore normalcy on this route,” said AN Sinha, IGP RPF.

At present, the railway has diverted 22 trans-bound trains to Kolkata and Guwahati via Patna-Gaya-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction and Arrah-Sasaram-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction.