Prasanti Express derails just after entering B'luru City station

No casualties; there appears to be a defect in the track, says official

Passengers of Prasanti Express (Train No 18463 that runs between Bhubaneshwar and Bengaluru) had a narrow escape on Friday when its locomotive and two coaches behind it got derailed just when the train entered the yard at the City railway station around 12:15 pm.

Moments after the train entered platform number 3, the locomotive, along with an SLR (seating-cum-luggage rake) and another coach, derailed over the track. No passenger was hurt, railway authorities said.

“The train had already entered the platform when the derailment occurred. No passenger was hurt. The derailment took place in the yard. We have ordered an internal enquiry into the incident and the report will be submitted with ten days,” Divisional Railway Manager, Sanjiv Aggarwal, told Deccan Herald.

Ruling out the fault of the loco pilot (engine driver), Aggarwal said: “Prima facie, there was a defect in the track but the cause of the derailment will be known only after the enquiry.”

It took the railway staff more than three hours to clear the track as the locomotive and the coaches had to be pushed manually. Prasanti Express, which originated in Bhubaneshwar, was terminating at Bengaluru City Junction a little after its scheduled arrival at 12:05 pm.

The derailment occurred less than a week after the Bengaluru City-Nanded Express was hit by a granite-laden lorry, derailing its four coaches near Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh. Five people, including a Congress MLA, were killed in the accident.

 The Commissioner of Railway Safety is conducting an enquiry into this freak accident that took place on the night of August 24.