22 killed in Mewar Express – Goa Express train accident

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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Oct, 2009
In Uttar Pradesh, twenty-two people have been killed and twenty six injured some of them grievously when Goa Express train collided from rear with Mewar Express train standing at outer sections of Mathura station of Agra division under North Central Railways, at 4.55 A.M. on Wednesday.

As a result of this accident, only the rear most luggage-cum-passenger-cum-guard coach (SLR) of Mewar Express was badly damaged. The Guard of Mewar Express was among those killed in the accident. Massive relief and rescue operation got underway at the accident site at the earliest after receiving the information. Accident relief train with machines, cranes, equipment and workers and the medical relief train were rushed to the site from the nearest stations. Senior officials of Agra Division, North Central Railway, West Central Railway and Northern Railway rushed to the site to supervise the relief and rescue operations.

Right since morning, the Railway Minister Kumari Mamata Banerjee started monitoring from Kolkata the massive rescue operation on minute to minute basis after getting the information about the unfortunate accident. She gave directions to Railway officials for expeditious rescue work and for providing best medical attention to the injured passengers. On Minister’s directions, Chairman, Railway Board, S. S. Khurana, Member Electrical, Railway Board, Shri Sudesh Kumar and Director General, Railway Health Services, Dr. V.K. Ramteke were rushed from Delhi to the site immediately.

The Minister of Railways Kumari Mamata Banerjee herself accompanied by Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri Prakash is also reaching Mathura from Kolkata tonight to take stock of the well being of injured passengers. Earlier, in the afternoon, Minister of State for Railways, E. Ahamed cancelling his private visit reached Mathura from Calicut and met the injured passengers.

A number of villagers, civil authorities and military authorities besides the railway personnel joined the massive rescue and relief operations. Railways through their prompt action completed the rescue operation by around 9.15 a.m. and restored the one track in the early morning itself while the second line was restored in the afternoon at around 2 p.m. facilitating resumption of up and down traffic through affected sections.

Railways also made arrangements for transporting stranded passengers of the trains. While the Mewar Express was taken to Nizamuddin after removing the affected coaches with some passengers of Goa Express also being accommodated in this train, the other passengers of Goa Express were transported by road in the buses organised by Railways and State Road Transport. Injured persons were admitted in Maheshwari Hospital, Military Hospital, Methodist Hospital and District Hospital at Mathura. Some injured passengers were also taken to Agra Medical College and some grievously injured passengers were taken to the trauma centre of AIIMS, New Delhi.

Telephone Helplines were also set up by the Railways at various major stations served by these two affected trains which included Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Udaipur, Ajmer and Jaipur to provide information to the public about the accident, which were also flashed through television channels, news agencies and other media.

The Railway Minister, Kumari Mamata Banerjee has expressed her deep condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this accident and conveyed best wishes for early and happy recovery of the injured passengers.

The Railway Minister has ordered a high-level enquiry into the accident and accordingly Commissioner Railway Safety, P.K. Vajpayee of North East Circle, Lucknow will start the enquiry from Thursday.

She has also announced an enhanced ex-gratia payment of Rupees five lakh each to the next kin of those who died in the accident and Rupees one lakh each to those with grievous injuries and Rs. 10,000/- each to those with simple injuries.