A goods convoy ignored a signal in the Darjeeling district of Bengal state and rear-ended a stationary passenger train. Two wagons of the freight train, which was heading to Calcutta, derailed.
Among the dead were the driver and his mate, who failed to obey the signal, as well as a gate guard and five passengers, said Jaya Varma Sinha, chairman of the Indian Railways Board.
India, which has one of the world’s largest railway networks, has seen a large number of deadly train accidents in its history. The deadliest accident in the country’s history remains that of June 6, 1981 when, in the state of Bihar (east), seven wagons from a train crossing a bridge fell into the Bagmati River, causing between 800 and 1,000 deaths.
The safety of this network, used every day by millions of passengers, has however improved in recent years thanks to investments to modernize it by equipping it with modern stations and electronic signaling systems.
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