Vande Bharat Stranded In Malda, Railway Services Hit In North Bengal

Kanchanjunga Express Accident: The collision between a goods train and the Kanchanjunga Express on Monday morning left at least 15 persons dead and over 60 injured, according to reports. The accident occured near Rangapani railway station, about 7 km from New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal. The driver of the freight train, which hit the passenger train from behind derailing the last three compartments of the latter, died in the accident.   

The collision has, meanwhile, caused a severe disruption in the railway services in North Bengal. The Vande Bharat Express, travelling on the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route, was stated to be stranded at the Malda Town station according to latest reports.

The Indian Railway authorities have activated several emergency phone numbers, including a specific helpline in Malda, for assistance to those affected.

Kanchanjunga Express Accident LIVE UPDATES

Special Train To Bring Stranded Passengers From Accident Site

Meanwhile, the Eastern Railway said an emergency passenger train will be sent from Sealdah to the accident site to bring back passengers stranded after the collision. Quoting Eastern Railway CPRO Kaushik Mitra, news agency UNI reported that the Kanchenjunga Express would leave Monday night as per its scheduled departure time.   

Besides the special train from Sealdah, the North Bengal State Transport (NBST) will run ten buses to ferry the stranded passengers.