Secunderabad-Shalimar Express train derails in Bengal’s Howrah; TMC targets BJP

Kolkata: A parcel van and two passenger coaches of the weekly Secunderabad-Shalimar Superfast Express got derailed near Nalpur station in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Saturday morning, South Eastern Railway officials said, adding that nobody was hurt.
The derailment happened at 5.31am when the train (No 22850) was changing tracks, from middle to down, at low speed, SER spokesperson Omprakash Charan said.
“While the engine and rest of the coaches are still on down track, the parcel van and two coaches have landed outside. The reason can be ascertained only after an inquiry which has been ordered,” K R Chaudhury, divisional railway manager, Kharagpur, told the media while inspecting the accident site.
“All passengers are safe. The railways ferried them to their destinations in buses,” Chaudhury added even as train services in both up and down lines remained affected for around five hours because the authorities had to slow down all trains moving in both directions and let the drivers use a single set of tracks.
Ajit Kumar, a passenger from one of the derailed coaches, said: “We had a narrow escape. The derailment shook the entire train.”
Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress targeted the central government saying railway accidents are on the rise because funds meant for safety measures are being spent on luxury trains.
TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said: “According to records, around 350 people have died in 200 accidents in five years. The figures have obliterated all records since Independence. Although railways are the main mode of transportation for India’s poor, the Narendra Modi government is spending money on luxury trains such as Vande Bharat. The Centre has hiked railway fares for all passengers in the name of strengthening safety measures but the money is being spent on luxury trains.”
“The Modi government has created a divide among people not only on political and religious lines but have created rich and poor railway passengers as well,” Majumdar added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Bengal unit’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya targeted chief minister Mamata Banerjee as she served as Union railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
“I will urge people to check how many projects Banerjee claims to have planned as railway minister were actually implemented or, were fit to be implemented. Also, the data on accidents during her tenure should be compared to the current statistics,” said Bhattacharya.