Hundreds of passengers had a close shave as a local train derailed after being hit by a goods train in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district, officials said on Thursday.

The accident happened at 9.16 pm on Wednesday near Saktigarh station on Eastern Railway's Howrah-Bardhaman line, they said.

There was no casualty in the accident, which disrupted train services on the important route, they added.

The train, 3778 down Bardhaman-Bandel local, went on the same line as a goods train while changing tracks, leading to the accident, officials said.

The accident happened when the train was entering the Saktigarh station, but a major disaster could be averted as it was moving slowly, Eastern Railway spokesperson Kaushik Mitra said.

Two compartments of the train derailed, he said.

Work to remove the derailed compartments from the tracks was underway, he said.

"The train stopped before entering Saktigarh station after making shrill noises and heavy jerks. The passengers began to rush out of it, leading to chaos. Some people in the first compartment of the train received minor injuries," said Subhankar Halder, who was on the train.

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