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British tourists killed as India train derails

Two British tourists were killed and a number of others left injured after a train derailed in northern India.

The chartered four-carriage train was carrying a group of 37 Britons on the picturesque Kalka to Shimla mountain railway line, which is a Unesco world heritage site and tourist attraction.

Two carriages derailed after leaving Kalka railway station at 13:20 local time, a rail official told the BBC.

Local police said the two Britons who died were both women in their 60s.

The 36 passengers and a tour manager were on day three of a 13-day trip organised by York-based company Great Rail Journeys, which takes about 2,500 people to India annually.

Chief executive Peter Liney said: "Tragically, we can confirm that two passengers died in the accident. We are working with Foreign and Commonwealth Office to assist their relatives in travelling to India as soon as possible."

He said a number of others were injured. Two passengers and the tour manager would stay in hospital overnight, but he added that their injuries were not believed to be life threatening. All other passengers had been taken to a hotel.

The train had been rounding a curve when the coaches derailed, Neeraj Sharma, a railway official, told the AP news agency.

One passenger, Peter Lloyd, 69, from Ormskirk, Lancashire, was with his wife in a carriage when the train derailed. "The journey had just got going and was about 3km along," he told the BBC. "It went around a really sharp left bend, going too fast. I got thrown across the carriage... when the derailment happened. There was no panic, but stunned silence until we realised how bad things were. We were stuck in a wooded area for many hours. A lady had fallen out of the door to the grass embankment. Our tour guide was in a bad way. We are now safe in a hotel in Chandigarh [nearby city]. We are still awaiting contact from Great Rail Journeys. I'm very disappointed. The locals were fantastic including the local guide Raj, who was on the train. I am still in shock but happy to be alive."

Dinesh Kumar, divisional railway manager of Northern Railways, told the Times of India the cause of the incident was not immediately clear and an inquiry had been ordered.

The 96km narrow-gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway, often called the toy train line, was opened in 1903 to connect Shimla, the summer capital of British India, with the northern plains.
The railway climbs more than 4,000ft through the Himalayan foothills, and is famous for its many bridges, tunnels and panoramic views.

MUMBAI: The first all-women station in India, Matunga on Central Railway (CR), manned by a staff of 41 women, has entered the Limca Book of Records, an official spokesperson said on Monday.

The unique initiative was taken by CR General Manager D.K. Sharma in July 2017 with the aim of empowering women, said CR spokesperson Sunil Udasi.

Accordingly, women staffers were posted across all departments, like 17 ladies for operations and commercial, six Railway Protection Force, eight for ticket checking, two announcers and two conservancy staffers, and five point persons, totalling 41, under the charge of Station Manager Mamta Kulkarni.

Incidentally, Kulkarni holds the distinction of becoming the first woman assistant station manager to be recruited on the CR's Mumbai Division in 1992.

Now, she and her all women staff handle the overall operations of the busy Matunga station with positive and encouraging results, said Udasi.

MUMBAI: The first all-women station in India, Matunga on Central Railway (CR), manned by a staff of 41 women, has entered the Limca Book of Records, an official spokesperson said on Monday....

Indian town picks up pieces after speeding train kills 60 people watching fireworks

Police have said that many of the victims were dismembered beyond recognition, and it will take several days to identify the dead.

The way the passengers leapt out of the wrecked train and ran across the tracks, apparently without checking for the approach of other trains is a bit hair raising

The Railways Act of 1989 clearly states that the IRCTC authorized food vendors selling packed food items or water bottles cannot sell their goods over the MRP. Any vendor if caught in the act, would be punished with a hefty fine and may have the license cancelled. Railways have a toll free number of 1800111321  to register complains in this regard.

Later reports put the death toll at "over 200" Awful. Nearly 1,000 hurt.

at least 288 people are now known to have been killed and 850 injured in a multiple train collision in India's eastern Odisha state, officials say.

KS Anand CPRO of SE Railway (India) has said that the train was signalled off the main line in to the goods/platform (yes they still call it goods) loop, already occupied. The second (up) express struck by the wreckage.

Shades of Harrow.

At about 4pm on Saturday 3 December 1836, a train was travelling westwards towards Carlisle, drawn by the locomotive SAMSON, with 26 passengers aboard plus a heavy load of goods. About half a mile before the siding the driver shut the locomotive regulator and the train descended the gradient. On reaching a bridge just before the siding, the train driver saw a man upon the line and signalled to him to get out of the way. The driver then saw that the points were set for the siding rather than the main line. He set the locomotive into reverse and he and the fireman leaped off. Because of the downward gradient the train carried on its way unchecked.

Thankfully, it seems that no one was hurt.

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Edit to correct thread title.