Rail traffic between Delhi-Kanpur disrupted following accident

Over 60 passengers were injured - 25 of them critically - when 15 coaches of 12987 Sealdah-Ajmer Express were derailed near Rura railway station, 56 km from Kanpur, at 5.20 am today.

Although the reason for the derailment – the second in about a month near Kanpur - is not known so far, railway officials said that low visibility due to fog could be a factor. "Sealdah-Ajmer express derailed when it was crossing a bridge over a dry canal in the area," Northern Central Railways PRO Amit Malviya said in an official statement.

As per reports, the first five and last three coaches were intact, but the 15 coaches in the middle were affected. Railway officials who had reached the spot refused to comment on the possible reason for the accident, but said that they were trying to find out whether there was any crack in the track on the railway bridge in Rura where the accident took place.

On 21 November, nearly 150 passengers were killed when the Indore-Patna Express got derailed near Pukhrayan station on Jhansi-Kanpur rail segment.

Rura is situated on the main Delhi-Kanpur-Howrah line, therefore a large number of trains have either had to be diverted via Moradabad or cancelled. Gomti Express from Lucknow to Delhi and Shatabdi Express from Kanpur to Delhi are on the list of cancelled trains.

The ill-fated Sealdah-Ajmer was running 13 hours and 40 minutes behind schedule. Its scheduled departure from Kanpur was 14.40 pm on Tuesday, but it departed at 4.20 am on Wednesday and got derailed exactly an hour later.

All the injured have been moved to hospitals in Kanpur and Tundla. Over two dozen ambulances were pressed into service to evacuate the injured.

An earlier report suggested that two passengers were killed on the spot, but later the office of the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Javeed Ahmad denied it. "The two passengers presumed dead were found to be alive when taken to hospital. They are critical and are being treated," the DGP office said.

"A rescue team has rushed to the spot and a medical relief train from Kanpur has also been sent to the accident site. Currently we are focusing on relief and rescue operations," railway spokesperson Anil Saxena said.

The Railways had arranged of buses to ferry stranded passengers from the accident site to Kanpur Central Railway Station, from where they can go to their respective destinations.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that ex gratia would be announced for the injured. Meanwhile, he has cancelled programmes scheduled on Wednesday to launch various projects at different locations of Northern, North Central and North Eastern Railway.