Bijay Express Derailment: Two ‘probable’ causes identified

Three days after nine coaches of the Chattogram-bound Bijay Express derailed at Nangalkot upazila in Cumilla, the investigation committee has identified the probable causes of the accident.

After the accident on last Sunday (March 17), the issue of 'line bending in hot weather' came to fore as the probable cause of the accident, but the investigation committee do not think so.

Investigating officials cited lack of proper maintenance of the bridge and loosening of the bridge's bearing plates as primary causes of the accident.

Bijay Express derailed in Tejer Bazar area under Dhalua union of the upazila near Hasanpur Station in Cumilla at 1:35pm on Sunday. The train was going to Chattogram with passengers from Mymensingh. The train had 18 coaches. Among those, 9 derailed from the rail line, injuring at least 30 passengers and partially disrupting train communication between Dhaka and Chattogram as some bogies of the derailed train were on the rail tracks.

The extent of the accident was so severe that all the carriages could not be recovered till the night of the third day, Wednesday (March 20). On the Dhaka-Chattogram route, during the last three days, trains have been running on one line in the accident-affected area. As a result, trains coming from opposite directions are being forced to cross through nearby stations.

According to the railway authorities, almost half a kilometer of railway track has been twisted due to the accident. The derailed coaches also fell into neighboring fields and houses.

The driver and the engine were saved when the train's engine was unhooked from the coaches during the incident. Later the drove the engine of the train to Hasanpur railway station.

The driver and the engine were saved when the train's engine was unhooked during the incident. Later the driver took the engine of the train to Hasanpur railway station.

Bangladesh Railway has formed an investigation committee led by Eastern Railway Divisional Transport Officer Anisur Rahman to investigate the incident. The other three members of the committee are Chattogram Divisional Engineer of Railway Md Abdul Hanif, Divisional Mechanical Engineer Md Nijhar and Departmental Telecommunication and Signal Engineer Zaheed Arefin Tanmoy.