West Bengal train collision: An accelerating train that went out of control
Special Correspondent
Jul. 21, 2010

one and half mile outside Sainthia, there is a large sign where the track curves, setting trains a speed limit of 30 km per hour. The Uttarbanga completely ignored the sign. It went on to ignore every signal thereafter. It accelerated at a very high speed. At 2.04 am it rammed Ranchi-bound Vananchal Express at Sainthia station, killing 69 people and injuring more than 150.

The unfolding mystery is unwinding fast. At Sainthia, Assistant Station Manager A Mukherjee frantically called the two drivers on their walkie talkies. He wanted to tell them to slow down, as they were approaching at a dangerously high speed, and the Vananchal Express stood on the same track. He never got through. In a desperate bid to stave off the calamity, Mukherjee began urging everyone on the platform concerned and on the train - through the public address system - to clear out.

But most people in the stationary train were asleep at that hour. He tried to divert the Uttar Banga to another track - to no avail.

West Bengal train collision: An accelerating train that went out of control
Special Correspondent
At 2.04 am it rammed Ranchi-bound Vananchal Express at Sainthia station, killing 69 people and injuring more than 150.
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