Fault in railway tracks is the likely cause of derailment of all the coaches of the Delhi-Kamakhya North East Express in Bihar, as per a preliminary investigation report available with The Pioneer. However, other railway officials pointed out that the train was brought to a sudden halt by applying brakes when it was travelling at great speed.

At least four people were killed and several injured in the accident in Bihar’s Buxar district Wednesday night. “It seems that derailment occurred due to fault in tracks,” the report, signed by six railway officials, stated. Relief measures were initiated immediately after the incident, with ambulances and doctors rushing to the site.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers including Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar condoled the loss of lives in the train accident. Vaishnaw monitored the relief operations through the operations war room at Rail Bhawan virtually while he was on a scheduled visit to poll bound state of Madhya Pradesh.

Expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased in the train mishap in Bihar, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government is closely monitoring the situation.

The guard of the Assam-bound train, Vijay Kumar, recalled that he felt brakes had been suddenly applied which was followed by jerks. “I was busy with my paperwork when I realised that the driver suddenly applied brakes. This was followed by a few jerks and I fainted. Later, I found myself in the adjoining fields, where villagers were sprinkling drops of water on my face,” said Kumar, who too sustained minor injuries in the derailment.

Highlighting the condition of passenger coaches, the report stated that all 22 coaches and the engine derailed — two of them were fully capsized and two others turned turtle.

The probe report has estimated the cost of damage due to the accident at more than `52 crore. The loco pilot, Vipin Kumar Sinha, suffered minor injuries and his assistant sustained serious injuries in the accident.

The report also contained a statement from Sinha who said that the train passed Raghunathpur station, near which the accident occurred, at a speed of 128 km per hour, but soon after it crossed the station section, it suffered a severe jolt at the rear end with excessive vibration.