Trains face regular threat in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district

KOLKATA: Tuesday���s audacious attack on the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Rajdhani express is yet another glaring instance of the supreme vulnerability of railway passengers in what has now emerged as a troubled route in the heart of Maoist country in West Bengal���s West Midnapore district.

If anything, it has also exposed the huge threat faced by superfast trains recently announced by railway minister Mamata Banerjee like the newly-launched non-stop Sealdah-Delhi Duranto Express or the soon-to-be-launched Delhi-Kolkata Yuva train.

Moreover, with tracks supposedly replete with landmines, most trains even running at average speeds are in danger. In case of a superfast or non-stop trains, the looming threat can be much more severe. Small wonder, as many as 13 long-distance trains had to be detained on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section purely for security reasons.

After Tuesday���s daring ambush, a relief train made its way to the troubled spot after railways received the crucial go-ahead from a combined force of the West Bengal police and CRPF, which had taken control of the situation by late evening.

When contacted, railway���s chief operations manager of the area, S S Guru, told ET: ���A relief train has left Sardia station with doctors, paramedics and RPF personnel. We have decided to escort the affected train with a pilot engine being brought in from Tatanagar. All the people inside the train are safe.���

Throughout the afternoon, several uprooted trees were on the track. The 2443A UP Bhubaneswar-Delhi Rajdhani Express had stopped on its tracks around 3 pm. Both drivers K Ananth Rao and K G Rao were asked to get off the train.