Western Railway issues alert after Jalgaon train accident, orders equipment checks on crowded routes

Pushpak Express at CSMT. Pic/Satej Shinde

Following the Jalgaon train accident, the Western Railway has issued an alert and directed all divisions, particularly those managing trains travelling to or from North India with crowded general coaches, to double-check all equipment. This measure aims to eliminate any possibility of smoke or related issues during the journey.

"In addition to this, the commercial department and security staff have been directed to take strict action against anyone found smoking or creating conditions where smoke can emanate," an official said.

"All electrical equipment on coaches, particularly in the vicinity of gates like control panels, and wires in ducts over doors but visible due to any reason must be attended to and put right. All staff should inspect passing through trains and ensure that the possibility of the occurrence of smoke for any reason is eliminated," the directive stated.

Jalgaon train accident toll rises to 13

The death toll in the Jalgaon train accident has gone up to 13 with the recovery of a body along the railway tracks, police said on Thursday.

Some passengers of the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express, who got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident, were run over by the Karnataka Express heading from Bengaluru to Delhi on the adjacent tracks in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express reached the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), its final destination in the Maharashtra capital, at around 1.20 am on Thursday.

In a video message from Davos in Switzerland, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said, "Some passengers in the train mistakenly assumed that smoke was coming out of the train and they jumped. Unfortunately, they were run over by another train."

The CM announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the passengers who died in the tragedy.

The Railway Ministry has also announced ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each for the kins of the deceased in the Jalgaon train accident, which resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.

"Ex gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh each has been announced for the kins of the deceased in the Jalgaon train accident, Rs 50,000 to the people who are seriously injured and Rs 5,000 to the people who have sustained minor injuries," the Office of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a statement.