At least seven coaches of Shaktipunj Express travelling from Jabalpur to Howrah derailed near Sonbhadra dictrict in Uttar Pradesh early this morning even as in another incident the Delhi-bound Rajdhani went off the tracks near Minto bridge hours. However, no casualties were reported.
This is the third such train derailment in Uttar Pradesh in the last month. Last month, 22 people were killed and over 150 injured, after 13 coaches of the Utkal Express jumped the rails. On August 23, the Kaifiat Express derailed in Auraiya district.
"The accident occurred at around 6.25 am this morning and we have already cleared out the site. All passengers were put on the remaining coaches and by 7.28 am all of them had left the spot. All of them are safe and no one was injured in the accident," said ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena.
The train was running at a speed of about 40 km per hr which, officials say, prevented any injuries when the incident occurred.
The derailments of the Rajdhani and the Shaktipunj Express are the first two accidents after Piyush Goyal took over as the new railways minister this week.
