New Delhi:
After the Maoist attack on the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express in West Bengal today, the Railways is considering halting night operations in five Naxal-hit states.
"We are discussing the issue of suspending night operations during night time in Orissa, Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. A decision will be taken shortly," Vivek Sahai, member. traffic, railways board, said.
This, Sahai said, was also in view of the Maoist call for a series of "Black Days" starting Friday. The Railways, he said, was already on red alert from midnight of May 28 and had taken precautions even before the attack.
A single light engine had been run on the track a few hours before the incident and about five trains had run on it thereafter at intervals of 15 to 20 minutes, he said. The speed of all trains running in the night through Maoist-infested areas was no more than 45 kmph, he added.
The Maoists attacked after the patrolling. The timing was crucial.
Sahai said death and damage would have been far less had a goods train had not rammed the derailed coaches of the Gyaneshwari Express. The maximum damage he said was caused by the impact of the collision, with three coaches of the Express bearing the brunt.
Three grievously injured people had been airlifted, he said, and 45 others were already in hospital by early morning.
Sahai said the driver of the Gyaneshwari Express had reported that he heard a loud sound "which makes us believe that there may have been a blast ot tinkering or sabotage with the tracks."
The railway board member said it would take about 24 hours to restore services. "Once trapped persons are taken out, restoration work will be quickly done," he said. But what needs to be worked out is how trains would be scheduled given the Maoist threat in five state.
Sahai said the Railways would work out those details in the next one day.