The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has initiated a probe to find out the cause of Tuesday’s goods train derailment near the New Mainaguri station in Jalpaiguri.

Five empty wagons of a goods train which was bound for New Jalpaiguri, derailed near the station and disrupted train connectivity along the principal route that connects the northeast with the rest of the country.

On Wednesday, Chetan Kumar Srivastava, the general manager of NFR, visited the accident site with other senior officials and engineers to take stock of the situation.

“Preliminary findings suggest that the derailment didn’t occur because of any lapses on the part of the loco pilot, the guard, or any other staff. We are examining the derailed coaches to find out what led to the incident,” Srivastava told newspersons.

In the past couple of months, this is the third incident of goods train derailment in north Bengal. In July and August, there had been similar derailments at the Rangpani station near the NJP.

Such incidents made the NFR initiate the work of improving the tracks, including tracks of the railway yard and tracks that connect the terminal of an oil refinery company that is next to the station.

“The work in Rangapani is going in full swing. It will help in smoother movement of trains, especially the goods trains which move into the yard and the refinery,” said a railway official.

After the derailment in New Mainaguri, some long-distance trains were diverted through alternative routes. The railwaymen, on the other hand, took the task of carrying out repair and maintenance works and today, trains started moving through the tracks along the route where the incident occurred.

Four wagons that had derailed have been shunted at the station while another wagon has been kept near the track for inspection.

“Work is going on even today (Wednesday) as yesterday (Tuesday), some electric poles got uprooted and power cables snapped due to the derailment,” the official added,

During his visit, Srivastava gathered detailed information from other officials at the office of the station manager of the station. He then checked a nearby level crossing and the derailed wagons.

A few days back, some items were spotted on the Dooars train tracks — the route that connects Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction — and prompted the loco pilot of a train to haltthe train.

“The intelligence wing and other employees of the railways are working round the clock for safer railway operations. We will also urge the residents who dwellnearby to keep an eye on the tracks and inform us in case they notice anything unusual,” said the general manager of the NFR.