Three coaches of an express train got derailed in Howrah district early on Saturday.

Railway officials said one parcel van and two coaches of the Secunderabad-Shalimar Weekly Express jumped tracks while passing through Nalpur station of Kharagpur division around 5.31am on Saturday. There were no casualties.

Railway sources said a larger accident was averted because the train was not at a high speed.

Nalpur is around 36km from Howrah station.

“This morning, the 22850 Secunderabad-Shalimar Weekly Express derailed while going from the middle line to the down line at Nalpur station. One parcel van and two passenger coaches have derailed. No major injury or casualty has been reported. Ten buses have been arranged for passengers for the onward journey. Senior railway officials are at the spot. Restoration work is underway,” said the spokesperson of South Eastern Railway, Om Prakash Charan.

Charan said that accident relief and medical relief trains from Santragachhi and Kharagpur were sent to the spot.

The accident disrupted railway services.

The Howrah-Puri Vande Bharat, Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express, Howrah-Digha Tamralipta Express and Howrah-Bhubaneswar Jan Shatabdi Express were among the express trains delayed.

Many other trains werediverted.

Saturday’s derailment is the latest in a recent spate of railway accidents in the country.

Several railway experts have alleged that the carrier’s “obsession” with high-speed trains has led to negligence in basic maintenance.

“Railway tracks are known to contract and expand during this time of the year, when the season is changing, because of temperature fluctuations. So, the tracks are known to be vulnerable to fissures and cracks. The authorities must take extra precautions and regular inspections to prevent any accident,” said a retired railway official.

An official of South Eastern Railway said a committee has been set up to probe Saturday’s derailment.

“Railway officials have already had a round of discussion with the loco-pilot. He is said to have heard a deafening sound before the coaches jumped tracks,” said a source.

The middle line was restored and readied for train movement at 2.30pm, said the spokesperson. The downline became operational around 6pm, he added.

On June 2, 2023, a triple-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore killed close to 300 people.

Apparently, a faulty signalling system directed the Up Coromandel Express to the wrong tracks where it rammed into a goods train from the rear. All 22 coaches of the Coromandel Express got derailed under the impact of the crash. Some of the derailed coaches toppled over to the adjacent line and hit the rear coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express