An overhead power cable at New Mainaguri station in Jalpaiguri snapped on Saturday evening while a train carrying a battalion of central security forces was moving out of the station.

The incident affected train movement along the route – the principal route that connects the northeast with the rest of the country – for an hour. Railway officials and engineers rushed to the spot and initiated repair works. Also, an inquiry has been started to find out what led to the incident.

Sources said a 23-coach special train carrying the 22nd battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) left Amritsar in Punjab on October 15. It was on its way to Goalpara in Assam.

At around 2.30pm on Saturday, the train reached the New Mainaguri station. At 5pm, while the train was moving out of the platform and heading towards Dhupguri, an overhead power cable snapped and fell on the train.

Satyendra Kumar, the loco pilot, pushed the brakes and the train came to a halt. A section of jawans of the security force jumped off the train. Other passengers at the station panicked and rushed to safer places.

“We had just started from New Mainaguri. The train was running at around 15 kilometres per hour. I have no idea why the cable snapped,” said Kumar.

As the news spread, train movement came to a halt along the stretch. After some time, a diesel loco was engaged to push back the train into the platform.

At around 6pm, train movement started along the track. A team of railway engineers and workers initiated repair work.