India's Biggest Train Accidents and their Dates (1981-2023):

The Indian Railways, the world's fourth largest railway network, has long had poor railway infrastructure, which has been the cause of rail accidents over the years. More than 1.25 crore people use it every day in Indian Railways. According to an estimate, an average of 300 minor and major rail accidents take place in the country every year. According to railway statistics, there have been 586 train accidents in the last 5 years.

There were 131 train accidents in India in 2014-15 and 168 people died in it. In the year 2013-14, there were 117 train accidents in which 103 people were killed. In the year 2014-2015, 60% of rail accidents were due to derailment of trains. About 53% of these accidents are due to derailment of the train.

Causes of Train Accidents in India:

After all, why do trains derail in India, due to which the following are two main reasons:-

  • Most of the rail accidents in India are caused by damage to the tracks and derailment of trains due to overcrowding. After some trains pass through, the cracks in the rail line(s) turn into fractures, due to which the trains derail and cause huge loss of life and property.
  • Negligence of railway employees is the main cause of railway accidents and deaths. Human errors have been found to be responsible in most of the train accidents. Many a times, Railway employees do not pay heed to the shortcuts or do not follow the safety rules and guidelines, which has resulted in disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, equipment failure, wear and tear, overcrowding of coaches, old coaches and many accidental factors lead to such train accidents.

Balasore train accident 2023

On 2 June 2023, a train collision occurred near the city of Balasore in the Indian state of Odisha, known by names such as the Bahnaga train accident, Balasore train accident, Balasore rail accident, Odisha train accident etc. This train accident took place near Bahana Bazar railway station in Balasore district of Odisha state, India. A total of three trains including 2 passenger trains and 1 goods train are involved in this train accident, whose names are as follows:

  1. 12841 COROMANDAL EXPRESS
  2. 12864 SMVT Bengaluru - Howrah SF Express
  3. A Goods train

As of 5 June 2023, at least 288 people have been killed and about 1,175 injured in the incident. On 2 June 2023, at around 7 pm local time, two passenger trains collided on the Howrah-Chennai main line near Bahanaga Bazar in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha. The first train was believed to have derailed and some of its coaches overturned and ended up on the opposite track, while other coaches of the train collided with the second train. A goods train was also hit in the accident. The accident was India's deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years.

Let us know about the biggest train accidents of the country, in which thousands of people have lost their lives so far:-

List of Biggest Train Accidents in Indian History (1981-2023):

Date of accident Location of the accident and related information
02 June 2023 On 2 June 2023, a train collision occurred near the city of Balasore in the Indian state of Odisha, which is known by names such as the Balasore rail accident, etc. This train accident took place near Bahana Bazar railway station in Balasore district of Odisha state, India. A total of three trains including 2 passenger trains and 1 goods train were involved in this train accident. As of 4 June 2023, at least 288 people have been killed and about 1,175 injured in the incident.
19 August 2017 The Kalinga Utkal Express running between Haridwar and Puri met with an accident near Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. In this accident, 14 bogies of the train derailed, due to which 21 passengers died, while 97 others were injured.
30 March 2017 Mahakumbh Express derailed near Kulpahar station in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh. About 52 people were injured in this accident.
20 February 2017 Kalindi Express coming from Kanpur derailed after colliding with goods train. Fortunately, no one was injured in this accident.
22 January 2017 Eight coaches of the Hirakhand Express derailed in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh state, located on the southeast coast of India. About 39 people had to lose their lives in this train accident.
March 20, 2015 The Janata Express going from Dehradun to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh had derailed. About 34 people were killed in this accident.
May 04, 2014 20 people died and 100 others were injured in this train accident when Diva Sawantwadi passenger train derailed between Nagothane and Roha stations in Maharashtra.
28 December 2013 Around 26 people were killed and around 20 were injured when the Bengaluru-Nanded Express train caught fire. The fire had started in the air condition coach.
19 August 2013 28 people lost their lives after being hit by Rajyarani Express in Khagaria district of Bihar.
30 July 2012 The year 2012 was one of the worst years in terms of accidents in the history of Indian Railways. In the year 2012, there were about 14 train accidents, which included both derailment and head-on collision. On 30 July 2012, a fire broke out in a coach of the Delhi-Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore, killing more than 30 people.
07 July 2011 About 38 people lost their lives in a train and bus collision in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh.
20 September 2010 33 people were killed and more than 160 were injured in a collision between a Gwalior Intercity Express and a goods train in Shivpuri city of Madhya Pradesh state.
19 July 2010 62 people died and more than 150 were injured in a train accident between Uttar Banga Express and Vananchal Express in West Bengal, located in the eastern part of India.
May 28, 2010 Dnyaneshwari Express derails in suspected Naxal attack in West Bengal. About 170 people died in this accident.
February 14, 2009 On the day of Rail Budget, 14 coaches of the Howrah-Chennai Coromandel Express derailed. 15 died and 50 were injured in the accident.
August 2008 A fire broke out in the Gautami Express going from Secunderabad to Kakinada late in the night. Due to this 32 people were killed and many were injured.
April 16, 2007 At least 11 people were killed in a train accident in Tamil Nadu. The accident took place near Kancheepuram village in Thirumathpur when a train rammed into a minibus.
April 21, 2005 At least 17 people were killed and 78 others injured when the Sabarmati Express and a goods train collided near Vadodara in Gujarat.
February 2005 At least 50 people were killed and the same number were injured in a train-trolley collision in Maharashtra.
June, 2003 51 people were killed and many were injured in the train accident in Maharashtra.
July 02, 2003 Two coaches and the engine of the Golconda Express fell on the road below an overbridge at Warangal, 120 km from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. 21 people died in this accident.
June 22, 2003 The coaches of a special passenger train derailed near Ratnagiri on the Goa-Maharashtra border. At least 51 passengers died.
May 15, 2003 Fire broke out at Frontier Mail near Ludhiana in Punjab. At least 38 people died.
09 September 2002 Rajdhani Express going from Howrah to New Delhi met with an accident. 120 people died in this.
September 10, 2002 Around 150 people were killed in this incident when some bogies of Rajdhani Express fell in the river near Rafiganj in Gaya, Bihar.
09 September 2002 Rajdhani Express going from Howrah to New Delhi met with an accident. 120 people died in this accident.
May 12, 2002 Shramjeevi Express going from New Delhi to Patna derailed. 12 people died in this accident.
June 22, 2001 Mangalore-Chennai Mail fell into the Kadalundi River in Kerala. 59 people lost their lives in this accident.
May 31, 2001 A train collided with a bus parked at a railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh. 31 people died in this accident.
02 December 2000 Howrah Mail going from Kolkata to Amritsar collided with a goods train, in which 44 people were killed and 140 were injured.
August 03, 1999 At least 285 people were killed and 312 others were injured in a collision between Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail and Awadh-Assam Express at Gasal in West Bengal.
July 16, 1999 Delhi bound Grand Trunk Express collided with a goods train near Mathura. In this accident 17 people died and 200 were injured.
26 November 1998 Khanna in Punjab collided with Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express and Amritsar Golden Temple Mail. About 209 people died and 120 were injured in this train accident.
September 14, 1997 In this train accident in Bilaspur, Madhya Pradesh, 100 people were killed, while 200 people were injured. Five bogies of Ahmedabad-Howrah Express had fallen into the river.
April 18, 1996 Ernakulam Express collided with a bus in South Kerala. 35 died and 50 were injured in this accident.
August 20, 1995 Around 305 people were killed and about 344 were injured in a head-on collision of the Purushottam Express Kalindi Express at Firozabad near Agra.
December 21, 1993 Kota-Bina Express collided with goods train in Rajasthan. 71 were killed and many were injured.
April 16, 1990 A fire broke out in a train near Patna. 70 died in this accident.
February 23, 1985 Two coaches of a passenger train caught fire in Rajnandgaon. 50 died and many were injured in this accident.
June 06, 1981 There was a very dangerous train accident in Bihar state of India in which several bogies of a passenger train fell down from the river bridge at Dhamara near Khagaria in the night in which 800 died and more than 1000 were injured.

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  Last update :  Mon 5 Jun 2023
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