20 coaches of Sabarmati Express derail near Kanpur, no injuries reported

As many as 20 coaches of the 19168 Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur during the wee hours of Saturday rail officials said There is no report of any loss of life or injury in the accident reported news agency PTIWhile speaking about Sabarmati Express derail North Central Railway NCR senior public relations officer Shashikant Tripathi told PTI that the accident occurred at 230 am He said there is no report of loss of life or property The train was going from Varanasi to Ahmedabad Rescue and relief operations are underway The train derailed between Kanpur and Bhimsen railway stationThe loco pilot said that some boulder hit the cattle guard front portion of the engine which got badly damaged and bent a Railway Board official told PTI while speaking about Sabarmati Express derailThe engine of Sabarmati Express Varanasi to Amdavad hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 0235 am today Sharp hit marks are observed Evidence is protected IB and UP police are also working on it No injuries to passengers or staff Train arranged for passengers for onward journey to Amdavad Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on XRailway Board officials said that both the IB and UP Police are probing the involvement of miscreants or antisocial elements as prima facie it appears that the engine hit an object placed on track reported PTIWe found a foreign material near the 16th coach of the train Looking at the size of the damaged portion of cattle guard of the engine it seems that the engine hit this foreign object and derailed the official said reported PTIWe have protected the evidence Both IB and UP Police are also working on it he addedThe official also said that on same track at 120 am a PatnaIndore train crossed uninterrupted reported PTIThe passengers of the Sabarmati Express were sleeping when the train stopped after a loud noiseShortly after the drain departed from the Kanpur railway station we heard a loud noise and the coach started shaking I got very scared but the train stopped one of the passengers Vikas told PTI videoVikas who boarded the train from Varanasi and was headed for Ahmedabad said that the train was moving at a very slow speed when it got derailed reported PTIAs the train halted the passengers started pouring out of their coachesMajority of them sat near the railway track waiting for help and called their family members to inform them about the incidentThe police came almost an hour after the incident We are waiting with our luggage on the side of the adjacent railway track said another passenger reported PTIUttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar said Buses have been arranged for the passengers along with alternative arrangements for transportation and all passengers have been evacuated from the spot reported PTIAccording to the Railways seven trains have been cancelled and three diverted due to the derailment reported PTITripathi said that buses were arranged to carry passengers from the accident site to the Kanpur Railway Station reported PTIBesides an eight coaches MEMU train departed from Kanpur to the accident site to carry passengers back to Kanpur so that further arrangements can be made to send them to their respective destinations Tripathi saidThe Railways has issued the following helpline numbers Prayagraj 05322408128 05322407353 Kanpur 05122323018 05122323015 Mirzapur 054422200097 Etawah 7525001249 Tundla 7392959702 Ahmedabad 07922113977 Banaras City 8303994411 Gorakhpur 05512208088Besides the following helpine numbers for Jhansi Rail Division have been released Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Jn 05102440787 and 05102440790 Orai 05162252206 Banda05192227543 Lalitpur Jn 07897992404With inputs from PTI