The Bagmati Express was doing 75 km/h when it left the main line. Instead of following its signal, the train swerved onto a loop line at Kavarapettai, about 40 kilometres from Chennai, and slammed into a goods train parked there. At least 12 of its coaches derailed.
Nineteen passengers were hurt. Southern Railway officials said nobody died and that none of the injuries were life-threatening. District Collector T Prabhushankar of Tiruvallur said four people had severe injuries. All of them were in hospital and stable.
The crash happened around 8.30pm on Friday, shortly after the train passed Ponneri station. The express was running from Mysuru in Karnataka to Darbhanga in Bihar. Around 1,360 passengers were on board.
What officials say happened
A Southern Railways official described what the crew told them. “While entering the Kavarapettai station, the train crew experienced a heavy jerk and instead of going into the main line as per the signal given, the train running at a speed of 75 kmph entered into a loop line,” he said. “It hit a goods train stationed on the loop line from behind.” Officials said the train had a green signal for the main line, and that how it ended up on the loop will be investigated.
Rescue and response
Prabhushankar told ANI that his team reached the site right after getting word. Chief Minister MK Stalin had told them to press ahead with the rescue without delay, he said, and every passenger was safely evacuated. Stalin said he was following the operation continuously. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin met passengers at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai.
The wreck disrupted traffic along the whole section. Railways cancelled two trains, the Jan Shatabdi Express services between Dr MGR Chennai Central and Vijayawada (Nos. 12077 and 12078), according to Business Standard. More than half a dozen others were diverted or sent by alternate routes on Friday night. The railways issued helpline numbers.
The Hindustan Times noted a likeness to the 2023 Balasore crash. There the Coromandel Express also entered a loop line, hit a goods train and derailed, and another train then struck the wreckage. That accident left 296 people dead, among the deadliest in the country.
Sources
- Passenger train rams into goods train near Chennai, 19 injured
- Train collision leaves 19 injured in Tamil Nadu
Sources
- Passenger train rams into goods train near Chennai, 19 injured
- Train collision leaves 19 injured in Tamil Nadu – Mehr News Agency
