2 loco pilots, 3 passengers hurt in 3-train mishap in Sirhind

Nine passenger trains were cancelled, 55 diverted and four trains were short terminated/originated after the mishap.

Eight coaches and two engines of a goods train derailed after hitting another from behind on the dedicated freight control corridor (DFCC) section at the New Sirhind railway station in Fatehgarh Sahib district at around 4 am on Sunday, officials said. The loco pilots of one of the trains were hospitalised. A few derailed coaches collided with a passenger train.

Railway workers at the mishap site in Sirhind on Sunday. Two severely injured pilots were hospitalised and three passengers were discharged after first aid at a government facility.

Naveen Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of the Ambala railway division, said both trains were running between Sadhoogarh and Sirhind. “Following the derailment, the coaches and engines of the one behind hit a passenger train — Kolkata-Jammu Tawi summer special (04681) — that was passing through the adjacent Delhi-Amritsar rail line. Consequently, the train was delayed and diverted through Rajpura-Dhuri-Ludhiana rail route, after detachment of a sleeper and a general coach,” Kumar said.

The mishap left a loco pilot, Vikas Kumar, 37, and his assistant loco pilot Himanshu Kumar, 31, both of Saharanpur district, injured. Both have been admitted to Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. At least three passengers of the summer special also received minor injuries. They were given first aid at a government facility in Fatehgarh Sahib and were discharged.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote on X that directions were issued to the district administration to provide all possible help.

Mandeep Singh Bhatia, divisional railway manager (Ambala); Pankaj Gupta, chief project manager of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), Ambala circle, along with officers from Safety, Engineering and Railway Protection Force (RPF) rushed to the accident site. Officials of the district administration and Punjab Police also reached the spot.

As the restoration works were underway, the rail traffic was diverted via Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri for Ludhiana and beyond, while some trains were made to run on the Ambala-Chandigarh-Sahnewal route.

Later speaking with HT, senior divisional commercial manager Naveen Kumar said he was hopeful that the train operations on the track might resume by late night. “A major damage was averted as the loco pilot of the passenger train applied emergency brakes as he saw the collision of the goods trains. It appears that the goods train coming from behind did not stop at the signal,” he added.

Pankaj Gupta said a probe was on to establish if it was a human or technical error. The commissioner of railway safety (CRS) will also visit the site on Tuesday.

The Northern Railway cancelled nine passenger trains in Ambala and Ferozepur divisions, diverted 55 of them and short terminated/originated four trains.