Seven passengers killed when train derails in eastern India

NEW DEHLI: Seven passengers were killed and several others injured when a Delhi-bound train derailed in India’s eastern state of Bihar on Sunday, railways officials said.

Eleven coaches of the Seemanchal Express left the rails near Sahadai Buzurg railway station, about 50 km (30 miles) from the state capital, Patna, early in the morning, the railway’s ministry said in a statement.

It marked a bad start to the year for India’s troubled railways. Sixty people were killed last year when a commuter train travelling at a high speed ran through a crowd of people on the rail tracks in northern India.

India’s state railways, largely built during colonial rule, have an appalling safety record after decades of underinvestment in rail safety infrastructure, with the priority on keeping fares low for the 23 million passengers who use the network daily.

At least 50 people were killed in October last year after a train plowed into revellers gathered to watch a Hindu festival in India’s northern Amritsar city, police said.

The train hit a crowd standing on the railway line to watch a fireworks show during Dussehra celebrations, police and eyewitnesses said.

“There was a lot of noise as firecrackers were being let off and it appears they were unable to hear the approaching train,” a police official at the scene told AFP.

An eyewitness told a local TV channel there was “utter commotion” when the crowds noticed the train “coming very fast” towards them.