Accidental diversion to loop line may have led to mishap

A technical snag, wherein the train was accidentally diverted to the loop line, could be the possible reason for derailment of the New Delhi-bound 14003 MLDT NDLS Express in Harchandpur area of Rae Bareli district early on Wednesday morning, officials said.

The railways have ordered an inquiry to identify the causes of the accident.

“Possibly, a snag (fault) developed in the track and this could have led to the disaster,” a senior Northern Railway (NR) official said.

The official said whenever a train approached, the station manager or the official concerned was supposed to make necessary changes to set the route and put the train on the right track.

“But in this case, the station master may have erred in setting the train’s route. The train was supposed to move on the main line. However, due to a snag, it accidentally got diverted to the loop line where the prescribed speed limit is below 30km per hour. However, the train was moving at over 70km per hour that led to its derailment,” he said.

The railways is also investigating the sabotage angle to ascertain if the wrong route setting was made deliberately or accidentally.

Satish Kumar, the divisional railway manager (DRM) NR, Lucknow, said an inquiry had been ordered into the causes of the train accident.