Three coaches of the Ujjaini Express derailed near Yog Nagari Railway Station in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh late Monday night. Officials confirmed on Tuesday that no passengers were on board at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported.
The derailment took place around 9.30 pm in the Khand Gaon area during shunting operations. According to preliminary findings, three coaches went off the tracks while the train was being moved for maintenance purposes.
Soon after the incident, teams from the local Kotwali police station and railway authorities rushed to the spot. Restoration and repair work continued through the night, while movement on the affected tracks was temporarily halted as a precautionary measure.
Kotwali Station In-Charge Kailash Chandra Bhatt said the incident occurred during maintenance hours when the train was empty. Local residents reported hearing a loud sound following the derailment, prompting many to come out of their homes and nearby shops.
Sources said a technical fault or possible human error during the shunting process is suspected to have caused the accident. However, railway officials said the exact reason will only be known after completion of the investigation. Officials added that a technical team has been assigned to inspect the damaged coaches and tracks and prepare a detailed report. Railway authorities are currently carrying out relief, restoration and repair operations at the site.
The incident comes amid a series of recent railway-related mishaps reported from different parts of the country. Earlier on Monday, a major fire broke out in a coach of a passenger train bound for Patna near Bihar’s Sasaram railway station. The incident occurred around 6 am, shortly before the train’s scheduled departure. No injuries were reported, and preliminary investigation suggested a suspected short circuit as the cause of the fire.
In another incident on Sunday, two rear coaches of the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express caught fire near Kota in Rajasthan. Railway officials said all passengers were safely evacuated from the affected coach, and no casualties were reported. Authorities said the Overhead Equipment (OHE) power supply was immediately shut down after the fire was detected to avoid further danger. The affected coach was later detached from the train.
Officials further stated that the coach’s built-in safety systems responded promptly, bringing the train to an automatic halt soon after the fire incident occurred.
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