Kanchanjunga Express train that met with a tragic accident in Darjeeling district has finally reached its destination in Kolkata’s Sealdah in the wee hours of Tuesday, official reports said.
Reportedly, the train reached its destination at Sealdah at around 3:16 am after relentless restoration works on Monday night.
On the other hand, train services also resumed early this morning from the Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling.
The devastating accident involving the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express and a freight train near New Jalpaiguri on Monday, which resulted in at least 9 casualties, was caused allegedly due to the loco pilot of the goods train jumping a signal.
The tragic collision, which occurred at around 9 am today was attributed to low visibility and has called into question the railways' automatic train protection system "Kavach" designed to prevent accidents caused by Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD).
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced enhanced ex-gratia compensation for the victims: Rs 10 lakhs for the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakhs for the grievously injured, and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries. He also inspected the train accident site on Monday and announced the completion of the rescue operations.
