Derailment site between Chandil and Nimdih stations disrupting rail traffic in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharswan district (PTI)
Train operations in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharswan district were brought to a standstill early Saturday when two goods trains collided while derailing on the Southeastern Railway's (SER) Adra division. While there was no loss of life or injuries sustained by anyone, the accident has caused grave disruptions to many express trains and passenger services.
The Chandil-Gunda Bihar section saw the derailment of wagons between Chandil and Nimdih stations. As per first reports from SER officials, some wagons of a goods train derailed and hit the mid-section of another goods train coming from the opposite direction.
The impact caused several wagons of both trains to go off the tracks in the double-line section, thus immediately suspending rail services.
Services have been disrupted on down and up lines from Chandil, significantly delaying the movement on Adra division. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Vikash Kumar confirmed restoration measures are in motion but expects delays to go on until the damaged tracks are restored.
Several major express services have been cancelled, including:
Three passenger MEMU services have also been canceled for the day, including Tata–Asansol and Tata–Hatia.
Train traffic on affected routes has been diverted for long-distance trains. The Bhubaneswar–New Delhi Rajdhani Express is now being run via Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Nuagaon, Hatia, Bokaro Steel City, and Rajabera instead of Sambalpur. On the other hand, the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Purushottam Express will run Hijili, Modinagar, Adra, Bhojudih, and Gomoh diversion.
The LTT-Howrah Express, stranded between Chandil and Kandra, will be short-terminated and run via Tata, Kharagpur and Howrah.
Immediately after the derailment, railway authorities sent emergency teams and heavy-duty cranes to salvage derailed wagons and mend the damaged track. Although no passengers were injured, the logistical implications of the incident have been enormous, with thousands of hapless travelers on their own, stranded and forced to make their own alternative arrangements.
The SER assured its passengers that getting back to normal service would be the top priority. But it added that given the extensive damage caused by the derailment, delays and diversions are likely to extend over the next 24 hours.
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