4 dead, 70 injured after North East Express derails in Bihar, 21 trains diverted

Four people were killed and 70 others were injured after the North East Express derailed near Raghunathpur railway station in Bihar’s Buxar district on Wednesday evening, news agency PTI reported.

The North East Express, coming from Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi, was on its way to Kamakhya Junction in Assam’s Guwahati when six coaches of the train derailed at 9:53 pm. At least two AC 3 Tier coaches had toppled over while four other coaches jumped the tracks, television visuals showed.

“Train number 12506 (Anand Vihar Terminal to Kamakhya) was passing through the main line of Raghunathpur station. Six coaches got derailed,” the Railway Ministry said.

The 23-coach train had departed the Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi at 7:40 am on Wednesday for its nearly 33-hour journey to Kamakhya.

Buxar Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Kumar told news agency PTI four passengers had died in the accident. A Railway Police Force official said at least 70 passengers have been injured and shifted to local hospitals.

Those with serious injuries were rushed to AIIMS, Patna. Relief measures were initiated immediately after the incident, with ambulances and doctors rushing to the site.

At least 21 trains operating on the route, including the Rajdhani Express between Delhi and Dibrugarh, have been diverted. Two trains were also cancelled and they were — Kashi Patna Jan Shatabdi Express (15125) and Patna Kashi Jan Shatabdi Express (15126), according to a statement issued by the East Central Railway zone.

A local resident, Hari Pathak, said, “The train was coming at a normal speed but suddenly we heard a loud sound and a plume of smoke rose out of the train. We rushed to see what happened. We saw that the train had derailed and the AC coaches were the most damaged.”

War rooms have been established for monitoring and early restoration of the coaches and rescue operations were going on in full swing, a railway official said.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said evacuation and rescue operations were completed. He extended his condolences to those who died and said the government “will find the root cause of derailment”.

He said officials were focusing on the restoration of the affected line and a train to ferry the stranded passengers to Guwahati had arrived.

Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is also the MP of Buxar, said he received information about the derailment and was on his way to Raghunathpur. He said he spoke to railway and district officials regarding the incident, news agency ANI reported.

“A tragic incident happened in Buxar area as some coaches of the North East Superfast train derailed at Raghunathpur station. I have come to know that three coaches have derailed. I have also spoken to NDRF DG, Chief Secretary, District Magistrate, Director General and General Manager of Railways,” Choubey said.

“I have appealed to our workers and they are engaged in rescue operations. Medical teams have been sent. A rescue operation is going on. I am also going to Raghunathpur in Buxar,” he added.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said he spoke to officials from the Disaster Management Department, Health Department of Buxar and Bhojpur. He instructed them to reach the spot as soon as possible and speed up the rescue work and make proper medical arrangements for the injured.

“The Bihar government is actively engaged in rescue, relief and treatment of the victims and injured,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Assam Chief Minister’s Office said on X that it was closely monitoring the derailment of the North East Express and was in touch with the district authorities in Buxar and other agencies.

Birendra Kumar, the CPRO of the East Central Railway zone, told news agency PTI that the accident took place less than half an hour after the train left the Buxar station and was headed for Ara.

“The derailment took place near Raghunathpur station where the train does not have a scheduled stoppage,” he said.

The Railways has issued helpline numbers in the wake of the accident. They are mentioned as follows:

Patna Junction (PBE)- 9771449971

Danapur (DNR)- 8905697493

Ara- 8306182542

COML CNL- 7759070004

Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction- 9794849461, 8081206628