RANCHI: At least 18 coal-laden wagons of a goods train derailed in Jharkhand's Palamu on Thursday, leading to disruption of train services between Daltonganj and Garhwa Road Junction.
The accident took place at around 1.30 PM near Rajhara Railway Station on the Sonnagar-Barwadih section of the East Central Railway. According to reports, the goods train, laden with coal, was travelling from Tori Railway Station to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar.
The accident took place due to a sudden technical glitch. The train's driver and other crew members are reported to be safe. Immediately after the accident, the railway administration was thrown into a state of alert, and a team of local officials immediately rushed to the spot.
Officials informed that train operations on this route have been disrupted and several trains, including the Chopan Express, BD Passenger, and Chopan Passenger, remained halted at various stations for several hours. Normal train services were only resumed after the derailed coaches were cleared from the tracks.
According to railway officials, the actual cause of the accident will be revealed only after the investigation report is released. The incident was reported near Rajhara station under the Dhanbad division of East Central Railway (ECR) when the goods train was diverting to an upline.
“Around 18 coal-laden wagons have been derailed. The process to remove the wagons from the track has begun," said Rajhara railway station manager Indrajit Ram.
According to East Central Railways (ECR), the Ranchi-Sasaram express has been cancelled, while three trains, including the Ranch-Chopan express, Gomoh-Chopan passenger and Barkakana-Dehri-On-Sone passenger train, have been short-terminated.
As many as six trains, including Hatia-Anand Vihar express, Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani, Palamu express, and Shaktipunj express, have been diverted.
