A wagon of a goods train derailed and overturned near Harishchandrapur railway station in Malda around Monday noon.
Although the derailment did not affect the normal movement of trains or cause any injury, Trinamul has questioned the safety standards of the railways given the spate of accidents on tracks in recent times.
Railway sources said that the goods train laden with stone chips was travelling between Pakur in Jharkhand to Katihar in Bihar on Monday. It came to Harischandrapur station in Malda for the weighing of its consignment.
It was then that a wagon of the train derailed at Harischandrapur station.
“The train was changing track from the side track to the main line near the west rail gate when the incident occurred,” said a source.
Railway officials, the GRP and RPF personnel rushed immediately to the accident site.
“We are making inquiries into the accident,” said a railway official.
Anup Tiwary, a sub-inspector of the GRP, said: “No one was injured in the incident.”
Railway officials added that since the goods train was moving along the side tracks and was about to change the tracks, railway traffic was not affected by the derailment.
Reacting to the derailment, Trinamul leader Sabina Yeasmin, a minister of state of North Bengal development department, said: “One after another railway accidents have been taking place recently. Such incidents indicate that more work is needed to increase railway safety.”
“The central government should pay more attention to railway services and safety in the public interest rather than exploiting its agencies to harass political opponents,” the minister added.
A month back, the Kanchenjunga Express averted an accident near Bhaluka Road station near Harischandrapur after a cave-in was discovered under the railway tracks in the nick of time.