Rocked by three derailments in Bareilly division within 12 hours, Railways suspended four supervisors in its engineering section and ordered a probe.
The sequence of inexplicable events began on Sunday evening with Triveni Express derailing just 500 metres away from the Bareilly junction. As petrified passengers rushed out of the train which stopped with a massive jerk, some of them also sustained injuries.
Minutes before the accident, the engineering department had completed the track maintenance work here, officials said.
Shockingly, a relief train departed from Roza station also derailed near the railway yard. In the third derailment, a locomotive returning to Bareilly from Aonla station derailed in Bisaratganj on Monday morning.
Divisional Railway Manager/Moradabad AK Singhal said, “We have set up three teams to probe into the matter. Prima facie, it appears to be dereliction of duty on the part of the engineering section. We have suspended four supervisors – two in Bareilly and one each in Bisaratganj and Roza stations.”
Several trains coming from Lucknow, including Rajya Rani Express, Punjab Mail Express, Kisan Express and Jan Nayak Express, were stuck for hours on the route due to derailment of Triveni Express.
Since April 2017, three major derailments have occurred in three sections of Northern Railway in UP. In the first of these, Rajya Rani Express was derailed on April 15, 2017 near Rampur. On August 19, in another horrific derailment, Kalinga Express jumped tracks in Khatauli near Muzaffarnagar.
A total of 21 lives were lost while dozens were injured in the accident. Only four days later, on August 23, another major derailment took place near Auraiya when eight coaches of Kaifiyat Express derailed. More than 20 passengers had sustained injuries in the acciden