Kanchenjungha Express rear ended by TOFC in India

[jis]

Kanchanjugha Express running from Agartala to Seladah (Kolkata) was rear ended by a TOFC train in North Bengal near New Jalpaiguri. 9 deaths are confirmed likely to rise to 15 or so. The deceased include the Loco Pilot of the TOFC and the Train Manager (Guard) of the Express. The fact that there were two full Parcel Vans at the rear of the train was lucky as that possibly reduced the casualties by an order of magnitude by shielding the passenger carrying part of the train.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kan...-in-west-bengals-darjeeling-rescue-on-5906662

Initial reports said this was a case of SPAD, but more information has come in since then. There was a signal failure in that section and that was possibly the cause of why the Express was running at a low speed, as trains were being given paper clearance to go past signals at danger. Normally un der such orders trains are supposed to operate at low speed ready to stop at sight. For some reason the TOFC was running faster than was safe. The reasons will become clear after the inquiry is completed.

The undamaged portion of the train has been cleared to travel to its destination and should arrive in Sealdah (Kolkata) later in the day. One track has been cleared through the area and some traffic flow should start. About 15 trains were canceled, and a few diverted via a parallel single track branch line that exists to go around the area.


One more thing to note is that the Express consisted of old ICF Schlieren coaches which do not perform well in collisions for several reasons and are in the process of being phased out completely, replace by the more resilient LHB coaches with CEM.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Kanchanjugha Express running from Agartala to Seladah (Kolkata) was rear ended by a TOFC train in North Bengal near New Jalpaiguri. 9 deaths are confirmed likely to rise to 15 or so. The deceased include the Loco Pilot of the TOFC and the Train Manager (Guard) of the Express. The Assistan Loco Pilot of the TOFC survived with relatively minor injuries. The fact that there were two full Parcel Vans at the rear of the train was lucky as that possibly reduced the casualties by and order of magnitude by shielding the passenger carrying part of the train.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kan...-in-west-bengals-darjeeling-rescue-on-5906662

Initial reports said this was a case of SPAD, but more information has come in since then. There was a signal failure in that section and that was possibly the cause of why the Express was running at a low speed, as trains were being given paper clearance to go past signals at danger. Normally un der such orders trains are supposed to operate at low speed ready to stop at sight. For some reason the TOFC was running faster than was safe. The reasons will become clear after the inquiry is completed.

The undamaged portion of the train has been cleared to travel to its destination and should arrive in Sealdah (Kolkata) later in the day. One track has been cleared through the area and some traffic flow should start. About 15 trains were canceled, and a few diverted via a parallel single track branch line that exists to go around the area.


One more thing to note is that the Express consisted of old ICF Schlieren coaches which do not perform well in collisions for several reasons and are in the process of being phased out completely, replace by the more resilient LHB coaches with CEM.

It's Amazing that there are so few incidents such as this on one of the busiest transportation systems in the World!