West Bengal, India: Deadly Train Crash Averted
- 14 years ago
A train crash was averted at the Sankrail railway station in India's West Bengal state on Sunday... when two passenger trains from opposite directions came on the same track.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when the Howrah-bound 8046 down East Coast express passenger train and the Panskura-bound electric multiple unit came at a dangerously close distance.
Local media report the driver of the Panskura-bound train overshot the signal, but soon realized and pulled the brakes.
Angered by the incident a mob comprising of locals and passengers went on a rampage and destroyed property.
On July 19, a speeding passenger train crashed into another waiting at a station in West Bengal, killing at least 60 and injuring 100 people... in India's second major accident in as many months.
In May, a train sabotage blamed on Maoist rebels killed 145 people, again in the state of West Bengal.
With a 40-thousand mile network, the Indian Railways play a key role transporting more than 18 million passengers and more than 2 million metric tons of freight daily.
But the system is plagued by overcrowding and outdated technology such as signaling systems. Every day, about eight million passengers cram onto commuter trains in the financial hub of Mumbai, with roughly a dozen fatalities daily.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when the Howrah-bound 8046 down East Coast express passenger train and the Panskura-bound electric multiple unit came at a dangerously close distance.
Local media report the driver of the Panskura-bound train overshot the signal, but soon realized and pulled the brakes.
Angered by the incident a mob comprising of locals and passengers went on a rampage and destroyed property.
On July 19, a speeding passenger train crashed into another waiting at a station in West Bengal, killing at least 60 and injuring 100 people... in India's second major accident in as many months.
In May, a train sabotage blamed on Maoist rebels killed 145 people, again in the state of West Bengal.
With a 40-thousand mile network, the Indian Railways play a key role transporting more than 18 million passengers and more than 2 million metric tons of freight daily.
But the system is plagued by overcrowding and outdated technology such as signaling systems. Every day, about eight million passengers cram onto commuter trains in the financial hub of Mumbai, with roughly a dozen fatalities daily.