A disaster was averted when the Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed barely 50 metres before it was to get on to Shivaji bridge in Connaught Place on Thursday. Two more trains derailed in Uttar Pradesh and a goods train jumped the rails in Maharashtra. A fourth derailment was averted in UP.
The 12439 Rajdhani Express, with hundreds of passengers on board, jumped off the tracks in the heart of the national capital around 11.50 am, a little before it was to enter platform No. 15 of New Delhi railway station.
One passenger was injured and railway traffic was affected as more than two dozen trains had to be rerouted, terminated or diverted.
Poor maintenance of tracks was prima facie stated to be the reason behind the engine and the front generator car jumping the tracks. As a result, several passengers at various railway stations in Delhi were left stranded.
The train came to a sudden halt, and a passenger, standing at a gate, fell down, and received injuries. The injured man, identified as Imam Hussain, was taken to Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi. Since the train was moving at a slow speed, a norm within the city limits, not many passengers felt the jolt.
Also on Thursday, seven coaches of the 11448 Howrah-Jabalpur Shaktipunj Express derailed near Phaphrakund railway station UP's Sonbhadra district at 6.13 am.
Passengers said that train's slow speed saved their lives, and claimed that the tracks were uprooted at many places where the derailment took place. "Many passengers would have died but for the slow speed," said Ramphal, a passenger. The engine and three AC coaches also jumped the rails. District Magistrate Pramod Kumar also pointed to damaged tracks.
It was the third train derailment in 19 days in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express had derailed in Muzaffarnagar, killing 24 passengers and injuring hundreds others on August 19. Over 80 passengers had sustained injuries when the Kaifiyat Express had derailed in Auraiya district on August 23.
Meanwhile, two wagons of a goods train derailed at around 3.55 pm near Maharashtra's Khandala.
A fourth train derailment was averted on Thursday as a fracture in the tracks was detected between Farrukhabad and Fatehgarh in UP, minutes before the Kalindi Express was scheduled to pass. Alert locals managed to get the train stopped before it could approach the damaged portion of the tracks.
