The railway derailment in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district - after a passenger train travelling at 75 km per hour rammed into a stationary goods train - was caused by a "mismatch between signal and route", RN Singh, General Manager of Southern Railways, told NDTV Saturday morning.
The passenger train - the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express - should have been switched to the main line but "something wrong happened", Mr Singh said. The train was inadvertently switched to a closed section of the track on which the goods train was parked.
It is too early to say exactly what happened, Mr Singh said, noting that signal had been set for the main line while the track switched the train to the closed loop.
"The train was headed to Gudur (in Andhra Pradesh). It stopped at Kavaraippettai Railway Station in Tiruvallur, where a goods train also headed to Gudur was on the loop line."
"It (the express) was given priority (and) was supposed to pass through the main line," he explained, "But despite the signal clearance for the main line, the passenger train entered the loop line and hit the goods train from behind, leading to the engine derailment."
Officials said the later reported a 'heavy jerk' before entering the loop line.
The Railway Safety Commissioner will ascertain the exact reasons, he added.
The accident led to 12 coaches being derailed and 19 people injured; over 1,300 passengers were on the express train. A power car also caught fire.
Fortunately no deaths have been reported so far and the injured are receiving treatment at state-run hospitals. The other - now stranded - passengers were taken via buses to state capital Chennai and accommodated on a special train to their respective destinations.
The derailment took place around 40 km from Chennai.
As a result of the derailment and ongoing repair work multiple trains have been cancelled or diverted; at least 18 trains scheduled for the day have been cancelled.
A high-level inquiry has been ordered, while Chief Minister MK Stalin has expressed shock and asked for rescue operations to be sped up.
Officials have said restoration could take up to 24 hours, i.e., till Saturday evening.
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