At least three British nationals were killed and 10 others injured when three carriages of a toy train that was carrying a group of tourists from Britain derailed on Saturday afternoon soon after their journey started from Kalka. They were on their way to Shimla in the narrow gauze Heritage train.
According to officials, the mishap occurred at around 1.00 pm on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge route near Parwanoo between the Kalka and Taksal stations. The Great Railway Journey chartered train had 37 passengers from aboard, all from Britain. While two victims, women aged about 35 and 65 years, died on the spot, one of the injured passengers died at a hospital in Chandigarh.
“We have information about two persons who died on the spot. The third death can only be confirmed by authorities in Chandigarh,” said Madan Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner, Solan.
Railway authorities from Ambala and officers of Solan district administration rushed to the spot and all the injured have been taken to hospital and provided medical aid, he said.
The cause of the accident could not be immediately ascertained but experts suspect that it might have occurred due to over-speeding. A senior Northern Railway official said that two of the passengers were seriously injured in the derailment.
An inquiry is being ordered into the derailment incident and senior officials, including Railway Board Member (Engineering) VK Gupta and Northern Railway General Manager AK Puthia have rushed to the spot, said the official.
The train had a total of four coaches of which three got derailed on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge section.
The chartered train, with four bogies, had been hired by tourists. The special train was booked through an agent.