Nearly 700 passengers on board the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express had a close call late Monday night when the train engine and 10 of 13 coaches derailed near Gaya in Bihar after the Maoists blew up a section of the tracks.
The Maoists, enforcing a 48-hour bandh in seven states, targeted the Rajdhani, letting the Sealdah-New Delhi Express pass barely 10 minutes ago. The derailed coaches did not slam into each other or topple over but simply ran aground, the wheels stuck in the stone bed beneath the tracks.
All on board were evacuated safely and taken to Mughalsarai on Tuesday morning by special trains. They were later accommodated in different Delhi-bound trains.
The Bhubaneswar Rajdhani was also targeted by Maoists last October when they managed to hijack the train between Kharagpur and Jhargram in West Bengal.
The train derailed at 11.47 pm between Kastha and Paraiya stations, 10 minutes after it left Gaya. Incidentally, this is the same section where the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani derailed in September 2002, killing 106 people near Rafiganj?it is about 25 km from the site of the Monday night derailment.
Bihar DGP Neelmani called it a ?clear-cut case of sabotage by ultras?.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar, relieved that there had been no casualty, said passenger safety had to be given top priority along routes through Maoist-hit areas. The railways have asked the commissioner of railway safety to conduct a probe.
Engine driver KK Singh said he spotted two Maoist flags next to the tracks from a distance. ?Before I could realise there was a problem and use the emergency brakes, the engine was over the two-and-half metre section that had been blown up,? he said.
Railways minister Mamata Banerjee announced an award of Rs 30,000 each to the engine driver and co-driver and Rs 20,000 each to the guard and train superintendent for ?displaying utmost devotion to duty even in the face of adverse situation?.
Officials in the railways ministry said one of the main reasons why the derailed coaches didn?t topple was because the Rajdhani was being run under a speed restriction of a maximum 75 kmph. ?Had the train been allowed to run at its optimum speed of 130 kmph, the damage could have been much more,? an official said. The German LHB coaches also played a significant role in preventing injuries to passengers.
?These coaches have much superior disc braking systems and anti-climbing features which prevent coaches from piling on top of each other in case of accident,? an official said.