Helpdesk set up at Sealdah, several trains diverted

Following the derailment of 15 coaches of Ajmer-Sealdah Express near Rura station in Kanpur-Tundla section, the Eastern Railway diverted a number of trains via different routes on Wednesday.

The authority soon took the decision to divert those routes after the news reached them. With both Up and Down lines having been blocked owing to the derailment, several trains to and fro from Howrah and Sealdah were diverted, Eastern Railway sources said in Kolkata. However, help desk were arranged at Sealdah. 

Both 12313 Up Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and 12301 Up Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express were diverted via Kanpur Central-Jhansi-Agra Cantonment-Palwal route, the railway sources said.

The 12308 Down Jodhpur-Howrah Express has been diverted via Achhnera-Mathura-Kasganj-Kanpur Anwarganj-Kanpur Central, while 12260 Down New Delhi-Sealdah Duronto Express was diverted via Khurja-Moradabad-Mughalsarai route.

The 12382 Down Poorva Express, which left New Delhi on Tuesday, would run via Palwal, while 12312 Down Kalka Mail of Tuesday would travel towards Howrah via Moradabad.

Eastern Railway has opened helpline numbers at important stations of the zonal railway to provide information to the relatives of the passengers travelling in the ill-fated Sealdah-Ajmer Express that met with the accident on Tuesday morning.

The helpline numbers are – Howrah: 10724, Sealdah: 033-23503535, 033-23503537, Asansol: 0341-2306131, 0341-2304614, Burdwan: 0342-2662535, 0342-2550705, 0342-2662534, Raniganj: 0341-2444022, 0341- 2442630, Durgapur: 0343-2557251, 0343-2557253.

However, the relatives of passengers poured in the Howrah and Sealdah station. They took information for the rail authority about the incident and where their relatives could be trapped in.

“I saw the news in television channel. I rushed here to know where my uncle is right now,” said Ashis Raha, a relative.

Over 50 passengers were on Wednesday injured when 15 coaches of the Ajmer-Sealdah Express derailed near Rura Railway Station in Kanpur Rural district, the second rail accident in the region in two months.

As per preliminary reports said, 15 coaches of the train got derailed. The first five and last three coaches were intact while the rest got derailed which includes two general coaches and 13 sleeper class. Dense fog in the area could be one of the reasons for the accident. The section on which the accident occurred was a modified automatic signalling system.