Firozabad railway accident (1995)

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The Firozabad railway accident was a rear-end collision on August 20, 1995 in Firozabad , Uttar Pradesh , India . 335 people died.

Starting position

Early in the morning, two trains were on their way to Delhi , one behind the other : Train No. 4023, the Kalindi Express from Kanpur , with about 900 passengers , followed by train No. 2801, the Purushottam Express from Puri , which ran around 1300 Passengers carried.

the accident

The Kalindi Express collided with a cow just outside Firozabad train station , which had been in the track area. Nobody was harmed in the process, but the train's braking system was damaged so that it was unable to continue. An employee of the signal box gave the Purushottam Express , which followed only minutes later, the signal "Clear the way" without having reassured himself beforehand that the route had been cleared by the train ahead. So the Purushottam Express drove onto the stationary first train at around 2:55 a.m. The last three cars of the Kalindi Express were destroyed, the locomotive and the two following cars of the Purushottam Express derailed. These six vehicles were squeezed together to a fraction of their length.

consequences

The number of deaths varies depending on the source. 302, 310, 335, 358 or more than 400 dead are named. In addition, more than 400 people were injured. The signal box employee fled and was never caught.

This was the second worst railway accident in Indian history after the Mansi railway accident . The accident did not result in any consequences for securing train journeys.

literature

  • Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 , p. 225.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This is the number given in a printed source (Semmens). For the different numbers, see the “Consequences” section.
  2. ↑ a b c d NN: Trains collide and explode in India. In: History.com. 2009, accessed December 10, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Semmens mentions a signal disruption for the train to stop.
  4. ↑ a b c Ranjan Roy: 300 die after Indian train hits cow. August 21, 1995, accessed December 10, 2015 .
  5. ↑ a b NN: Chronology of railways in India, part 6 (1995–1999). Retrieved December 10, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Arabinda Ghose: Resolve to make train journeys safe. Retrieved December 10, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Semmens.

Coordinates: 27 ° 8 ′ 46.4 ″  N , 78 ° 23 ′ 25.3 ″  E