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8 coaches of Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Express derail in Assam
No casualties or major injuries have been reported in the incident.
At least 8 coaches of Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express derailed at Dibalong station in Assam on Thursday.
The accident occurred around 4pm in the Lumding-Bardarpur Hill section of the Lumding division. No casualties or major injuries have been reported.
“Eight coaches, including the power car and the engine of the train, got derailed. However, no casualty or major injuries have been reported,” the CPRO of Northeast Frontier Railway zone said, according to PTI.
Railways officials said that accident relief train and accident relief medical train have already left for the site from Lumding, along with senior officials of the division to supervise the rescue and restoration works.
Operations adversely affected
Running of trains over the Lumding-Badarpur single line section has also been suspended due to the incident.
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The railways have also issued helpline numbers at Lumding – 03674 263120, 03674 263126.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government is coordinating with the railways regarding the incident.
The incident comes a week after 12 coaches of a long-distance express train derailed after it rammed into a stationary goods train at Kavarapettai in Tamil Nadu on October 11. There were no casualties and or life-threatening injuries reported.
The crash occurred around 8.30pm, shortly after the 12578 Bagmati Express train — travelling from Mysuru in Karnataka to Darbhanga in Bihar — crossed Ponneri station.
Railway officials said the train appeared to have entered a loop line, where the freight service was parked.
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The circumstances appear similar to the 2023 Balasore crash, when the Coromandel Express similarly entered a loop line, struck a goods train and derailed, before another train, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast, crashed into it. With 296 people dead, it was one of the deadliest train accidents in the country.
