9 Dead and 32 Injured as Trains Collide with each other in Kerala

At least 9 dead, 32 injured as two trains collide near Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh 

                         

The Visakhapatnam-Rayagada Passenger Special train collided with the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger from the rear ,this hit led to several coaches derailing.

According to the East Coast Railway, the accident took place between Alamanda and Kantakapalle stations in Vizianagaram on the Howrah-Chennai Main Line. The area falls under the Waltair division of the East Coast Railways.Repairs are ongoing and are expected to lead to the resumption of operations only on the evening of October 30.

As many as 18 trains have been cancelled while 11 more have been partially cancelled and 22 have been diverted, Express reported, quoting Biswajit Sahu, Chief Public Relations Officer of ECoR. Sahu is further reported to have said that signal overshooting led to the collision.

“As many as eight poclain machines, one 140 rail crane, and 800 to 900 people are engaged in the restoration work,” the report said.

Rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has posted on X (formerly Twitter) that ex-gratia compensation disbursement has “started” at Rs 10 lakh in case of death, Rs 2.5 lakh towards grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries.

This is the second big rail accident this month and the third this year.

On October 11, the derailment of the 12506 Anand Vihar Terminal-Kamakhya Northeast Superfast Express at Raghunathpur station in Buxar district of Bihar led to the death of four people and injured more than 60. The cause was, according to the preliminary report, a derailment of the tracks.

On June 2, a triple train collision in Odisha’s Balasore district led to the deaths of 295 passenger and over 700 injuries of varying degrees. Like the Andhra Pradesh collision, in Balasore too, alleged lapses in the ‘signalling circuit".