A Gorakhpur-bound train came off the rails at Kanpur Central on Wednesday evening, setting off panic on the platform. By the accounts of two newspapers, nobody was hurt, and the low speed of the train is being given as the reason a bigger accident was avoided.

What the reports say

The Chauri Chaura Express, train number 15003, runs from Anwarganj in Kanpur to Gorakhpur. According to Hindustan, it reached platform number 7 of Kanpur Central at about 5:05 pm on Wednesday, stood there for around ten minutes and then began moving out for Gorakhpur. It was at this point that three AC-3 coaches, B-4, B-5 and B-6, left the track.

Amar Ujala gives slightly different timings and a different count. It says the train left the platform at 5:03 pm and that, about two minutes later, one trolley each of four coaches, B-4, B-5, B-6 and B-7, derailed. The two outlets therefore agree on the platform, the train number and the approximate time, but not on whether three or four coaches were affected. Railway officials have not yet put out a final count in the reports we could read, so this will need to be settled after the inspection.

Both reports say no passenger was injured. Hindustan describes the train as moving at a very slow speed when the jolt came, and says passengers screamed and the platform was thrown into confusion for a while. Relatives who had come to see off passengers, and people waiting for other trains, were also caught up in the commotion.

Response on the ground

The loco pilot and the guard informed the railway control room straight away, Hindustan reports. Railway staff and the engineering team reached the spot and helped passengers out of the coaches that had not been affected. Amar Ujala adds that the Deputy Chief Transportation Manager (Deputy CTM) at Kanpur is leading the relief work and that senior officers from Prayagraj have set out for Kanpur.

Train movement on platform 7 was disturbed while the coaches were being put back on the track. Relief and repair work was still going on when these reports were filed. Railway officials told the newspapers that the reasons for the derailment will be investigated.

The railways have also issued helpline numbers for families of passengers. At Kanpur Central these are 0512-2323018, 0512-2323016 and 0512-2323015. At Prayagraj Junction they are 0532-2408128, 0532-2407353 and 0532-2408149. At Fatehpur the number is 9151833006.

A second derailment the same day

Hindustan notes that this was the second derailment in the country in about twelve hours. On Wednesday morning, an engine and five coaches of a Kolkata–Sairang train came off the track near Digaru station close to Guwahati in Assam. The same report says four people were slightly injured and that more than 300 passengers were on board. A spokesperson of the Northeast Frontier Railway said the train was being stopped at Digaru to give way to another train, but the loco pilot could not control the speed. A video circulating on social media shows the loco pilot saying that none of the equipment in the engine was working. That claim comes from the video and has not been verified by railway authorities in the reports we read.

The two incidents are separate and nothing in the reports links them. Still, back-to-back derailments on a day of heavy post-Diwali travel will put attention on how trains are handled at slow speeds inside stations.

What passengers should do

People travelling through Kanpur Central tonight or on Thursday should check the status of their train with the railway helplines or the official enquiry channels before leaving home, since movement on platform 7 was disturbed. Families of anyone aboard the Chauri Chaura Express can use the helpline numbers above.

We will update this report when railway officials give a final count of the coaches involved and say what caused the derailment.