A passenger train collided with a stationary goods train in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on Monday, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 150, officials say.
Six coaches of the Gorakhdham Express went off the rails and ploughed into the freight train at Chureb railway station in Sant Kabir Nagar district.
The train was travelling from Gorakhpur town to Hisar in Haryana state when it crashed.
Monday’s crash is the latest to highlight India’s ailing infrastructure, a problem that Narendra Modi, due to be sworn in as prime minister on Monday, has vowed to make a top priority.
“My condolences to families of those who lost their lives in the Gorakhdham Express tragedy. Prayers with the injured,” Modi tweeted on Monday.
Modi has promised to build new inter-state highways and a network of bullet trains, as well as addressing severe electricity shortages.
There have been numerous train accidents in recent years, killing hundreds of people.In December, 26
people died in a fire which engulfed a carriage of the Nanded-Bangalore Express while it was travelling through southern Andhra Pradesh state.
India’s railway network operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries some 18 million passengers every day.
(Source: REUTERS, BBC, YAHOONEWS)