Guwahati Rajdhani derails in Bihar

Railway authorities said 2424 Guwahati-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Kharik station on Barauni-Katihar railway section,300 kms from here. While 14 compartments came off the track,no passenger suffered any serious injury. As the driver applied emergency brakes and with train having modern technology to minimize derailment,the compartments just ran around after having come off the track,said Sonepur DRM R K Agrawal.

Additional DGP,Railway,Shafi Alam said: Railways had been carrying out maintenance on the section. It could be possible that the land under the tracks had subsided after overnight rains.

ECR spokesperson Dilip Kumar,however,sought to downplay poor maintenance of tracks behind the derailment. We have seen tracks broken for two metres at a place. It could be a case of sabotage. A forensic team has been sent from Patna to ascertain reasons.

Three trains had to be cancelled due to the derailment.

Meanwhile,Railways has ordered a statutory probe into the derailment to be conducted by Commissioner,Railway Safety,Eastern Region,official sources said.