8 train coaches derail in Assam, none hurt

Eight coaches of the Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express derailed at the Dibalong station in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Thursday afternoon, Northeast Frontier Railway officials said.

There were no reports of any fatality or major injuries, they said.

“No major casualty or injury and all passengers are safe. We are coordinating with the authorities and a relief train will shortly reach the site,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X.

The derailed coaches included the power car and the engine of the train.

An accident relief medical train had already left for the site from Lumding along with senior officials to supervise the rescue and restoration work, the officials said.

The cause of the derailment, which occurred at 3.55 pm, was “being investigated and it will take some time to be ascertained”, an NF Railway spokesperson said.

The passengers would be shifted to a separate rake and transported to the next station, he said.

Restoration work was likely to take time due to the hilly and difficult terrain of the section, the spokesperson said.

Running of trains on the Lumding-Badarpur single-line hill section had been suspended, the officials said.

The railway authorities have also opened helpline numbers at Lumding.

Following the derailment, the NF Railway cancelled the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri special train and Rangiya-Silchar-Rangiya Express on Thursday along with both the corresponding trains on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Agartala-Firozpur Cantt Express has been short-terminated at Badarpur, the Sabroom-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express at Maibong and the Dullabcherra-Guwahati Express at New Haflong.

The Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Special and Agartala-Guwahati Summer Special will also remain cancelled on Thursday, while the New Jalpaiguri-Guwahati Special, Guwahati-Agartala Summer Special, Kamakhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Special and Silchar-Guwahati Silchar Express have been cancelled on Friday, an NF Railway bulletin said.

Among other changes, the Silchar-Thiruvananthapuram Express, scheduled to leave on Thursday, has been rescheduled to leave at 6 am on Friday, while the SMVT Bengaluru-Agartala Humsafar Express, which began its journey on October 15, would be regulated suitably, it said.