As the death toll in the Odisha train accident involving two express trains — Bengaluru-Howrah Express and Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express — and a goods train in Balasore has risen to 238, we look back at the most tragic train accidents that has jolted the nation in the past.
Bihar Rail Disaster of June 6, 1981
On June 6, 1981, at least 800 people are killed when seven of the nine bogies of an overcrowded passenger train derailed from a bridge and fall into the Baghmati River during a cyclone at Balaghat in Bihar. The overloaded passenger train was going from Mansi to Saharsa. As per some estimates, the death toll varied from 800 to 2,000 as the waterlogged bodies were fished out one by one after several days of rescue work. It was impossible to assess the number of passengers since the train including four large marriage parties was packed inside the train. Kedar Pandey, the Indian National Congress politician was the then Railway Minister.
The Peruman railway accident, Kerala, July 1988
The accident occurred on July 8, 1988, when a train derailed on the Peruman bridge over Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala, and fell into the monsoon-swollen lake, killing over 100 people. Ten bogies of Island Express, travelling from Bangalore to Thiruvananthapuram, derailed and fell into the lake. Out of the 14 coaches, only the engine, the parcel van and a second-class compartment had crossed the bridge when the derailment occurred. Two of the nine coaches that fell into the water turned upside down. Madhavrao Jivajirao Scindia was the then Railway Minister. He was a member of the Indian National Congress party.
Firozabad Rail accident, August 1995
The Firozabad rail disaster occurred when the Purushottam Express collided with the stationary Kalindi Express near Firozabad, killing 400 on August 20, 1995. The accident occurred late at night on August 20, 1995, at 02:55 when a passenger train collided with a train that had stopped after hitting a nilgai. The first train, the “Kalindi Express” from Kanpur struck a nilgai but was unable to proceed as its brakes were damaged. The halted train was then struck from behind by the Purushottam Express from Puri. Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief was the then Railway Minister, he was one of the senior Indian National Congress leaders.
Khanna Rail Disaster, November 1998
The Khanna rail disaster occurred on November 26, 1998, when the Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express collided with three derailed coaches of the Frontier Golden Temple Mail at Khanna, killing over 212 people. In total, the trains were estimated to be carrying 2,500 passengers. The initial derailment was caused by a broken rail. Nitish Kumar was the then Railway Minister from Samta Party.
Gaisal, West Bengal, August 1999
Another major accident the Gaisal train disaster occurred when the Brahmaputra Mail collided into the stationary Avadh Assam Express at Gaisal station in North Frontier Railway’s Katihar division, killing at least 285 and injuring more than 300 on August 2, 1999. The crash occurred at about 1:45 am due to a signalling error, when the Avadh Assam Express from New Delhi collided with the Brahmaputra mail at Gaisal railway station, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal. Both trains were using the same track on a day when three of the four tracks on the line were closed for maintenance. Ram Naik, was the then Railway Minister. He was a veteran Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rafiganj Train Wreck, September 2002
The Rafiganj train wreck occurred when the Howrah Rajdhani Express derailed on a bridge between Gaya and Dehri-on-Sone stations, with two coaches falling into a river, killing over 140 on September 9, 2002. The accident occurred at 10:40 PM when the Eastern Railway’s high-speed, luxury Howrah Rajdhani Express train travelling at a speed of 130 Km per hour derailed on a 300-foot bridge over the Dhave River near the town of Rafiganj near Gaya. It was led by a Ghaziabad-based WAP5 locomotive in those times. Lalu Prasad Yadav was the then Railway Minister from Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) party.
Velugonda, Andhra Pradesh October 2005
Several coaches of a passenger train derailed in Andhra Pradesh, near Velugonda when it was attempting to cross tracks washed away by a flood. Nearly 100 people were killed and 92 others were injured. The accident occurred about 4:15 am when seven coaches of the 15-coach train remained in the water. The train was crossing a bridge flanking a reservoir when it derailed, as a flood of water had washed the tracks away. Lalu Prasad Yadav was the then Railway Minister from Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) party.
Jnaneshwari Express derailment, May 2010
The Jnaneswari Express train derailment occurred on May 28, 2010, when the Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Jnaneswari Super Deluxe Express was derailed by an explosion and then struck by an oncoming freight train between Khemashuli and Sardiha stations, killing at least 140. A few weeks before the incident the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh said Naxal attacks were affecting the profitability of the railways: “We have lost Rs 5 billion because of Naxal bandhs and obstructions. There has been an adverse impact on operations, freight loading and passenger traffic on a localised basis during bandh calls and other threats in vulnerable areas.” Mamata Banerjee was the then Railway Minister from All India Trinamool Congress party.
Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, July 2011
Around 70 people were killed and over 300 injured on July 10, 2011, at 12:20, when the 15 coaches of Howrah-Kalka Mail derailed near Malwan. As per news reports, fire and sparks were reported in the AC compartments of the train. The train had left Howrah and was heading towards Kalka when the incident happened. It was the period of transition of post between All India Trinamool Congress members Mamata Banerjee and Dinesh Trivedi.
Pukhrayan, Kanpur, November 2016
The Pukhrayan train derailment occurred when the Indore-Rajendra Nagar Express derailed 14 coaches at Pukhrayan, approximately 60 km from Kanpur, killing 152 and injuring 260 on November 20, 2016. Suresh Prabhu was the then Railway Minister from BJP.
Andhra Pradesh, January 2017
At least 41 people are killed after several coaches of a passenger train go off the rails in Andhra Pradesh. Suresh Prabhu was the then Railway Minister from BJP.
Amritsar, October 2018
A passenger train runs through a crowd gathered on the tracks for a festival in Amritsar killing at least 59 people and injuring 57. The crowd had gathered to watch the burning of effigies for Dussehra and were standing on the tracks. The accident occurred in the early evening, killing at least 59 people and injuring approximately 100 others. Piyush Goyal was the then Railway Minister, from BJP.
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