Six coaches of Kolkata-Sairang Express derail at Digaru after loco pilot reports red signal and brake failure

At least six coaches of the Kolkata-Sairang Express came off the tracks at Digaru railway station, on the outskirts of Guwahati, in an Assam train derailment that began before 7 am on Wednesday. Republic World put the time at 6:54 am and counted seven coaches, while The Hindu, WION and The Telegraph India reported six, with some accounts including the locomotive.

Northeast Frontier Railway officials said the train was being received at Digaru station to give precedence to another train, but the locomotive pilot could not control its speed. The route is in Kamrup (Metro) district, and more than 300 passengers from Bengal were aboard, according to the Deccan Chronicle.

The Hindu attributed the derailment to a speed control failure. Counts varied across the first updates: The Hindu’s live coverage said six coaches had derailed, NDTV opened with seven coaches near Digaru, and the Deccan Chronicle, quoting the Chief Minister, first said five coaches and the engine were off the tracks. Republic World, WION and The Telegraph India settled on six coaches plus the engine, with Republic World reporting no casualties.

What made the morning stand out was a video from inside the locomotive cabin: the driver is heard saying “Signal red, emergency brake not working,” after NewsX carried audio in which he adds that brake pressure is not dropping and “nothing is working.”

What the cab audio shows

The footage does not show the wheels leaving the rails, but it captures the seconds before the Assam train derailment became visible. India TV News aired a Hindi translation of the driver’s alert, and the same clip was used by The Times of India and NDTV to point to a possible emergency braking failure rather than a routine red-signal stop.

On the ground, the picture was narrower than the initial alarm suggested. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said four people suffered minor injuries; Republic World reported no casualties, while NDTV, WION, The Statesman and others carried reports of several passengers injured. Rescue teams reached the spot, and NFR General Manager Vivek Khare arrived at the accident site. The Telegraph India said passengers were shifted to an alternative train.

A pantry car manager on the rake gave the sequence behind the audio. Passengers were asleep at around 5 am and everything appeared normal until the train halted at Guwahati, he told the Hindustan Times. After the derailment, the train moved about 1 km before stopping.

The dig at Digaru left a practical question on the platform: how a train being held for precedence to another rake could arrive at that speed with an emergency brake the pilot says did not work. The cab recording and the driver’s own words are the two fixed points officials have to fit that sequence between. The derailed rakes stayed on the tracks at Digaru while an alternative train carried passengers onward.

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Arjun Nair

Arjun Nair writes about technology, artificial intelligence, gadgets, apps and emerging digital trends. He focuses on explaining new technologies in a simple, practical way and helping readers understand how they could affect everyday life.

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