A little over a year ago, a railway employee from the northern fringes of Calcutta was busy attending to family members and friends of survivors and victims of the triple-train crash in Odisha that killed nearly 300 people.

On Tuesday, his brother was at Howrah station, trying to gather information when the railway employee, who was injured in Tuesday’s train accident, could return home.

Kamlesh Shaw, a resident of Halishahar in North 24-Parganas, was a ticket examiner on the Howrah-Mumbai Mail, elder brother Santosh told Metro.

“He called up a friend early in the morning. He said he suffered a shoulder injury and was admitted to a local railway hospital. I have spoken with him but he could not give more details. I am here to gather more information on him and visit him as soon as possible,” said Santosh, standing near the help desk set up at Howrah station in the wake of the latest accident.

In June 2023, Kamlesh was posted at Howrah station where he attended to scores of people who came looking for near and dear ones who were affected in the Balasore accident.

“He later shared that experience with us. He said it was very traumatic. The anxiety of friends and family members who came to Howrah station would remain etched in his memory forever. I never thought I would have to experience a similar anxiety for him some day,” said Santosh.

Late in the evening, this newspaper could connect with Kamlesh over the phone. He said he was at the railway hospital in Chakradharpur.

“It is so ironic. I was answering the queries of people in June 2023. Now, my relatives are doing the same for me,” Kamlesh, who has been working with the railways for over 12 years, said from the hospital bed.

Many other people kept visiting the help desk at Howrah station throughout Tuesday, enquiring about passengers on the Howrah-Mumbai Mail.

Azim Sheikh, 34, a resident of East Burdwan, was one of them.

Sheikh had three of his friends on the Mumbai-bound train. Sheikh Suraz Ali, Debajit Baskey and Surja Layek work at a jewellery shop in Mumbai. Sheikh also works in the jewellery sector in the financial capital but not in the same shop.

He, too, was due to reach Mumbai but could not find tickets on the same train. He boarded the Gitanjali Express for Mumbai on Tuesday night.

“They had called me early this morning to inform me about the accident. They suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital for first-aid,” said Sheikh.

“Since then, I have not been able to contact them. I came here (help desk) to try and gather some more information on them,” he said. Sheikh had come with his luggage, ready to board his train.

Many others with tickets on other trains whose schedules were disrupted were seen running helter-skelter.

Nutan Lakshmi Kudadi, a resident of Gariahat, was scheduled to travel on Tuesday on the Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express with his elderly parents. The train was cancelled.

But Kudadi said she “did not get any information on the status of the train”.

“It was only after reaching Howrah station that I found out from the Enquiry desk that the train had been cancelled. This is complete harassment. My father suffers from paralysis,” she said around 2pm.