Fourteen coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Kalinga Utkal Express derailed near Muzzafarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening, injuring several people. The accident took place in Khatauli near Muzzafarnagar, about 115 kilometres from Delhi. Railway ministry officials said they are still awaiting details of the accident that took place around 5:45 pm. The accident comes less than a year after the Indore-Patna Express derailed near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh in November last year, leaving over 100 dead. Nearly 200 people were injured and 150 sustained serious injuries.
586 train accidents in last 5 years; 53 due to derailments.
Nearly 53 per cent of the 586 train accidents in the last five years were due to derailments with the Utkal Express derailment being the latest.
Notwithstanding the railways’ attempts to upgrade the safety apparatus, many such accidents continue to occur.
Over 20 people died and 97 were injured after 14 coaches of the Utkal Express derailed near Muzzafarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday evening.
According to official figures, of a total of 586 rail accidents in the last five years, nearly 53 per cent were due to derailments.
Since November 2014, there have been 20 rail accidents, many of them minor.
The worst accident was the November 20, 2016 derailment of the Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur which resulted in 150 deaths and over 150 injuries.
The train pulled out of Pukhrayan station, on the outskirts of Kanpur, and derailed soon after. Several causes, including overcrowding and fracture in the railway line, were attributed to the accident.
On September 12, 2015, a narrow-gauge train, the Shivalik Queen, a chartered train from Kalka to Shimla, derailed on September 12, 2015.
36 British tourists and a tour guide were on the train. Two of the tourists died in the accident and 15 were injured.
Nine coaches of the Secunderabad Junction-Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Duronto Express derailed near Karnataka’s Kalburgi town on September 12, 2015, resulting in two deaths and seven injuries.

Muzaffarnagar authorities have set up a control room to assist families of those affected. The numbers are: 0131-2436918, 0131-2436103 and 0131-2436564.

  Derailment, Utkal express derail