Horrifying Train Catastrophes In India

Catastrophes are inevitable. They say, what has to happen will happen and nothing can avert them. Even after the best of facilities and operations provided by the Indian Railways, it has seen some of India’s and also the world’s deadliest accidents, taking thousands of lives. People usually prefer traveling by train since it is affordable, serene, you can order food from train, etc. But the following train accidents freaked out lots of passengers.

1. Bihar Train Disaster – 6 June 1981

Near Saharsa in Bihar, the train entirely fell into the Baghmati River, causing nearly 900 Deaths. This is one of the most horrifying accidents the country has seen by far and also one of the biggest in the world too. Some say it was a cyclone which triggered the accident; some blame it on Flash Flooding. Another reason is that during the heavy downpour, the driver saw a buffalo at the bridge and the sudden break lead to the train falling into the river.

2. Firozabad Rail Disaster – 20 august 1995

Delhi-bound train Purushottam Express rammed into the Kalindi Express at Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh that killed over 400 people from the two trains. A little manual error triggered the incident. The train’s break got jammed after hitting the cow and it was still on the track. Simultaneously, Purushottam express was signaled for running on the same track. The former train hit the latter from behind, causing the disaster.

3. Khanna Rail Disaster – 26 November 1998

The Jammu –Sealdah Express rammed into the three bogies of the Amritsar-bound Golden Temple Express near Khanna, Punjab. The Golden Temple train was derailed by broken rail while the Jammu–Sealdah Express just then approached from behind and hit the derailed coaches.

4. Gyaneshwari Express Disaster – 28 May 2010

A supposed attack by the CPI (the Maoist) killed at least 180 people when Kolkata Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Super Deluxe Express was derailed due to an explosion between Sardiha and Khemashuli in West Midnapore of Bengal at 1:30 AM, followed by a struck from a goods train. The accident was among the massive and biggest ones in India.

5. Howrah New Delhi Rajdhani Express – 9 September 2002

At around 10.30 PM, the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express was derailed near the Rafiganj station, which is in between Dehri and Gaya stations, which resulted in the death of 140 people. One more Rail Incident that could be called a Manual fault since same tracks were weak and was from the British era. Very heavy rain caused a crack on the track that was the cause for derailment of Rajdhani running at 100 KM/H.

6. Hyderabad Accident – 28 September 1954

A train fell into the River Yasanti, about 70 km from Hyderabad, the bridge broke and killed 139 people and injured more than 100. It went on to become one of the biggest Train Accidents in the country.

Despite of these deadly accidents, the Indian Railways continues to reign as the main transport for traveling from one city to the other. Around 7000 trains operate in India every single day.