61 injured in UP train derailment

Latest crash raises concern over rail safety

A train derailed in India yesterday injuring 61 people, police and rail officials said, the third significant accident in recent months that have raised concern about the safety of the ageing rail network.
The train came off the tracks and crashed near the northern city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh early in the morning.
“Our latest assessment is that 61 people got injured in the accident,” said Anil Kumar Saxena, spokesman for Indian Railways.
The train had just pulled out of the station and its speed was “rather slow”, he said.
Television footage from the scene showed mangled, toppled carriages.
Two coaches had fallen off a bridge into a small canal while some passengers were seen picking up their luggage from near the tracks.
Local government officials at the accident site said some coaches had crashed into each other and turned sideways after coming off the tracks.
“We can confirm two deaths and injuries to at least 61 persons, who are admitted at different hospitals around Kanpur,” Zaki Ahmad, inspector general of Kanpur police said.
“The incident happened around 5.30am. There were passengers, other than the 61, who’d received minor injuries and left after receiving first aid,” he added.
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said senior department officials had already rushed to the accident spot.
“Immediate medical help being provided to the injured. Mobilized resources, directed all concerned to ensure rescue and relief,” Prabhu said on Twitter.
“Thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause,” he added.
The train was travelling to Ajmer in Rajasthan from Sealdah in Kolkata.
Following the accident, routes of at least 32 trains had to be diverted, North Central Railway official Amit Malviya said.
The railways has also arranged 12 buses to bring passengers to Kanpur and five buses to take passengers to Agra.
The reason for the derailment is yet to be ascertained.
The railways minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have separately announced compensation of Rs50,000 each to the seriously injured passengers and Rs25,000 to those with minor injuries.
The chief minister has also directed officials to ensure prompt and proper treatment to the injured and warned there should be no carelessness in the treatment and relief to the accident victims.
Yadav also instructed district officials to extend all help to and co-operate with the railways authorities in carrying out rescue and relief operations.
India’s creaking railway system is the world’s fourth largest. It runs 11,000 trains a day, including 7,000 passenger trains carrying more than 20mn people.
But it has a poor safety record, with thousands of people dying every year in derailments, collisions and other accidents.
This was the third accident significant in recent months.
On November 20, at least 146 people were killed when a train derailed near the same city.
A train rammed into a van taking children to school at a level crossing in north India in July, killing eight of them.
Prabhu has promised to replace old tracks and upgrade safety systems.
The government spends more than 90% of the railways’ revenues on operational costs, leaving little for upgrades of the colonial-era system.
Some analysts estimate the railways need Rs20tn ($293.21bn) of investment by 2020, and India is turning to partnerships with private companies and seeking loans from other countries to upgrade the network.