The Kanchanjunga Express was travelling from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah in Kolkata when a goods train hit it from behind near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri Monday morning, resulting in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 41. Preliminary findings point to a combination of human error and signal failure as contributing factors.
The Railway Board's initial report on Monday revealed that the goods train, operating under a defective automatic signalling system, was travelling above speed limits when it crashed into the Kanchanjunga Express. The railways have not commented on this issue.