Train collision in UP, 51 killed

The exact number of casualties is yet to be known. Most of the 50-odd bodies caught in the mangled general second class compartment of the KV Express could not be extricated as railway officials were first removing a bogey lying atop this compartment.

Survivors of the accident had a ghastly tale to narrate. “I was travelling in the general compartment of the KV Express, with my five children, when the roof caved in and everything fell on me. I was saved by the villagers,” said Putti Lal. The biting cold and the poor visibility made matters worse for the survivors. Rescue work was also not up to the mark. The relief train which started at 5 am reached Lucknow only at 12 noon. “Some of the seriously injured died due to lack of timely medical attention,” said Ajay Trivedi, a passenger of AC-II in the KV Express.

It is evident that the authorities haven’t learnt their lessons from the rear collision of the Kalindi Express with the stationary Purshottam Express at Ferozabad in December 1995. Yesterday’s accident at Hardoi bore an uncanny resemblance to the one at Ferozabad. In both incidents, the trains stopped after they ran over a nilgai and in the process releasing their vacuum brakes.

In the case of the Hardoi accident, the KV Express started for Lucknow at 9 pm and passed through Karma railway station at 9.10 pm. But it had to stop two km short of Masit railway station at 9.15 pm after it ran over a nilgai.

The Bareilly-Varanasi Passenger train arrived at Karna railway station at 9.35 pm and stopping barely for two minutes, started again towards Masit only to ram into the KV Express. Its driver, Haridwari Singh, claimed that he started the train only after getting a green signal from the station master. But the Karna station master claimed that Singh did not bother to look at the signal at all.

“We are holding an inquiry into causes of the accident. But, prima facie it appears to be a case of human error,” Om Prakash told The Indian Express. The accident occurred despite the fact that the signals are equipped with Automatic Inter-locking System. This system prevents a signal from going green till the previous train passes the next railway station.