Passengers crowd the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express waiting for the departure of the train at Shalimar station near Kolkata on June 7, 2023. photo credit: AFP
five days later met a tragic accident Near Balasore in Odisha, 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express Services resumed on Wednesday. The train left Shalimar station in West Bengal’s Howrah district from platform number 2 at 3.25 pm.
The general coaches of the train were packed, mostly with migrant workers traveling to other states for work. “I am not scared at all. It would be good if surveillance is increased,” said Pintu, a migrant worker traveling to Visakhapatnam. Another migrant worker who boarded the train said he is going to Kerala for work, but is a little scared “There is fear but we have no option but to catch a train and report to work,” he said.
Ranjit Mondal, along with some other villagers from Sandeshkhali in the state’s South 24 Parganas, boarded the train in the hope of finding his 18-year-old son, who has been missing since the June 2 accident. Son is Dipankar. He is 18 years old. We were in Odisha but could not find him. We are going again in the hope of finding him,” said the father.
long queue
A few hours before the train reached the platform, a long queue formed in front of the general compartment of the train. By the time the train was ready to leave, it was difficult to enter the general compartment. The youths were crouching on the top berth with bags. Those who did not get a seat were standing shoulder to shoulder in the compartment. Their faces were expressionless amid the general commotion of a train journey. There were some in the crowd who were traveling to other states for the first time in search of work. Many were not too keen on sharing their names and the districts they came from.
Deepak Sharma, who was going to Bhubaneswar, said that there was no fault of the people but due to the fault of the Railways many lives were lost. He said, ‘Railways should be more careful in the matter of safety of passengers in future.’
Passengers carrying the train included families seeking medical help in southern states, armed forces personnel returning to work and job seekers taking the train for an urgent interview.
A South Eastern Railway spokesperson said the tracks have been repaired and the train will run on its normal route. According to the West Bengal government, 103 people have lost their lives in the state so far and 30 to 40 people are still being reported missing. Most of those killed were migrant workers and were traveling in a general compartment when the train derailed on June 2.