Kalka Mail coaches derailed near Howrah Stn
Kolkata: Two coaches of an empty rake of Kalka Mail derailed while entering Howrah station on Sunday.
Though no one was injured in the incident, the derailment caused a chaos like situation at the railway station.
"Empty rake of Kalka Mail while entering platform number nine from sorting yard, third coach and second coach from Delhi end got derailed at 1. 47 am on Sunday," said an official of Eastern Railway.
While the rail traffic on the line was affected for a few hours, an accident relief train reached the site to restore normal services. Railways officials said their priority was to clear the route.
"As a consequence platform numbers one to eight were utilised for train movement while platform number nine onwards were blocked including South Eastern Railway movement. Accident Relief Train (ATR) was called and placed at 3. 23 am," the official pointed out.
He reiterated that a number of express trains operated by SER were also short-terminated or short-originated from Santragachi.
This apart, the departure of several trains was delayed.
Two EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) trains were short terminated at Santragachhi and four EMU trains originated from there.
Five Mail/Express and three EMU trains were detained en route.
"As it is an empty rake, the question of human casualty does not arise. Front portion arrived at platform number nine at 2.45 am and rear portion at 2.40 am. After clearing the front portion, platform number nine, 10 and 11 were free for train movement," added the official.
The cause behind the
derailment is yet to be ascertained. An inquiry panel
is being constituted to investigate.
While Howrah station is shared for train operations by both Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway, Kalka Mail, which runs between Howrah and Kalka in Haryana, is operated by Eastern Railway.