Kanpur (UP), Nov 11 Four AC coaches of the Gorakhpur-bound Chauri Chaura Express derailed shortly after the train left Kanpur Central railway station on Wednesday evening. No casualties were reported in the incident, senior police and railway officials said.
Around 300 passengers were travelling in the four affected coaches, they said.
“Chauri Chaura train (15003) bound for Gorakhpur from Anwar Ganj departed from platform number 7 at around 5.03 pm. As it moved out of the station, coaches B-4, B-5, B-6 and B-7 derailed, triggering panic among passengers,” Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI.
It was the second derailment incident reported in Wednesday. Earlier in the day, five coaches and the engine of the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailed at Digaru near Assam’s Guwahati, leaving four persons injured.
Railway officials and engineering teams rushed Kanpur to oversee restoration work. Senior railway officials from Prayagraj were also sent to Kanpur.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Satyajeet Gupta said the derailment occurred at around 5.07 pm. No passenger was injured, and the railway safety team would investigate the cause, he said.
All were safe and had been shifted to platform number 1, where arrangements for refreshments and a special train were being made for their onward journey, Gupta said.
The special train could take four to five hours to be arranged, a railway official said, adding that passengers unwilling to continue their journey would receive a full refund.
The incident did not affect other train operations at the station, the officials said.
A passenger travelling with his family for Chhath Puja said a sudden jolt threw his child to the floor. Panic-stricken people rushed out of the coaches before realising that four coaches had derailed.
Another passenger, Sanjeev Tripathi, who was travelling to Deoria, said a loud noise was heard soon after the train started moving.
His coach began tilting to one side, accompanied by a rattling sound, prompting passengers to get off with their belongings.
Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), North Central Railways, Shivam Sharma said the cause of the derailment was not yet known.
A formal inquiry committee would be constituted which would examine all aspects of the incident, he added.
(PTI News)
