List of Deadliest Train Accidents in India

Siliguri: In a tragic incident, At least four people were killed after 12 coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, officials said. According to police, some coaches of the passenger train headed to Dibrugarh derailed between Motiganj and Jhilahi railway stations. Senior railway and local administration officials are at the spot to oversee rescue operations.

This is not the first such incident as history has witnessed many train accidents. Despite advancement in technologies and enhanced safety measures, such tragedies have remained in the news from time and again. 

Here is a list of major train tragedies in India:

• Kanchanjunga train tragedy: Earlier in June, a Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express was hit by a goods train on Monday morning, resulting in deaths of 10 people and injuries to over 20 others. The train accident took place at Darjeeling district in West Bengal. Soon after the collision, disaster management teams were rushed to the spot for rescue operations. The train was en route Sealdah station in Kolkata and the accident happened in Siliguri's Rangapani region.
• Balasore train tragedy: In June 2023, the Coromandel Express went through a three-way crash in Odisha’s Balasore , leaving as many as 293 passengers and over 1200 others injured. Apart from the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the train crash took under its grip Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train in Odisha on June 2. This became one of India's deadliest train crashes. The Coromandel Express had collided with a stationary goods train and some of its derailed coaches then crashed into the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express approaching from the opposite direction.
• Bihar Train Derailment: Bihar witnessed one of the deadliest train accidents on June 6, 1981 when a local train carrying over 800 passengers got derailed and fell into the Bagmati river between Mansi and Saharsa in the state. According to media reports, as many as 500 to 800 people were believed to have died in the incident. The operation to rescue people was underway for six days. Later on June 12, the government issued the official death toll of 235 passengers. The reason behind the accident remains unknown till date. 
• Peruman Train Collision: One of the deadliest train tragedies in India was reported on July 8, 1988 in Kerala when 10 coaches of the Island Express running from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram got derailed and fell from the Peruman bridge in the Asthamudi lake. As many as105 passengers lost their lives in the accident. The cause of the accident is not certain but some media reports suggest that track alignment and faulty wheels led to the tragedy.
• Firozabad Train Collision: As many as 358 people were killed after the Purushottam Express and the Kalindi Express collided near Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh on August 20, 1995. The accident occurred at around 3 when 2,200 passengers on board the train were in sleep. The accident happened after the Kalindi Express hit a Nilgai and was itself hit by the Purushottam Express from rear.
• Gaisal Train Disaster: On August 2, 1999, the Avadh Assam Express and the Brahmaputra Mail collided head-on in West Bengal, resulting in the deaths of at least 290 passengers and injuries to over 300 passengers. The trains collision was attributed to a signaling error. According to media reports, the trains were using the same track as the other tracks were closed for maintenance. Around 2,500 passengers were travelling in both trains. 
• Khanna Rail Collision: As many as 212 passengers were left dead on November 26, 1998 when the Calcutta-bound Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express and Frontier Mail train collided. The accident happened after Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express collided with six derailed coaches of Frontier Mail. According to media reports, the derailment of coaches was attributed to damaged railway track.
• Valigonda Train Derailment: On October 29 in 2005, as many as 114 people were killed and over 200 injured after the Delta Fast Passenger train passing near Valigonda in Andhra Pradesh got derailed after the bridge underneath got swept away by a flash flood.
• Jnaneswari Express Derailment: On May 28 in 2010, the Jnaneswari Express got derailed in Bengal's Midnapore district and was subsequently hit by a freight train. The tragic incident left at least 148 passengers dead. It was speculated that the Maoists had removed 46 centimeters of railway tracks, which caused the accident. However, some reports also claimed that the derailment happened due to a bombing.
• Fatehpur Train Derailment: Around 70 people were killed and over 300 injured when 15 coaches of Howrah-Kalka Mail derailed in Fatehpur. The accident occurred on July 10, 2011, at 12:20. 
• Andhra Pradesh train collision: In October last year, Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger train collided with Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train in Andhra Pradesh, leaving around 14 people dead and many injured. The accident had taken place after one of the trains overshot a signal, officials had said.
• Bihar Train Accident: In October 2023, Bihar witnessed a major train accident when six coaches of the 12506 Anand Vihar Terminal-Kamakhya Junction North East Express derailed near Buxar’s Raghunathpur Railway Station, leaving four people dead and over 70 others injured.