Five coaches of the Kolkata-Sairang Express leaped off the rails near Digaru railway station in Assam's Kamrup (Metropolitan) district early Tuesday morning after the locomotive's emergency braking system failed.
No passengers were killed. No severe injuries were immediately reported. But the margin between survival and catastrophe inside the locomotive cab came down to mere seconds.
A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson confirmed the derailment occurred at approximately 6:54 am as the passenger service pushed east toward Sairang, the rail terminus serving Mizoram's capital of Aizawl. Heavy equipment and an emergency relief train scrambled from Guwahati to clear the damaged line.
Dramatic 45-second cockpit footage captured from inside the driver's console shows the loco pilot sitting upright, feverishly pumping switches and working power levers. Nothing grabbed. The steel convoy kept hurtling forward toward a stop signal.
"BP pressure kam nahi ho raha [The brake pipe pressure is not reducing]," an onboard voice shouts over the mounting hum of the engine.
The urgency spikes within seconds.
The signal is red. The emergency brake is applied, but it is not working. Kuch bhi kaam nahi kar raha hai [Nothing is working].
Locomotive Cabin Audio Recording
Suddenly, the engine strikes an obstruction on the trackbed. A glass bottle resting on the console countertop rattles violently and smashes across the cab floor as five passenger bogies jump the tracks, grinding the train to an abrasive halt in the ballast.
| Incident Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Service Involved | Kolkata-Sairang Express |
| Location | Digaru Station, Kamrup (Metropolitan), Assam |
| Time of Incident | 6:54 am |
| Coaches Derailed | 5 Coaches |
| Reported Casualties | Zero Fatalities, Zero Immediate Injuries |
| Response Unit | Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Relief Train |
NFR technical teams cordoned off the Digaru corridor to inspect the brake pipe circuitry and determine why pneumatic pressure failed to drop despite manual activation of the emergency lever. Track alignment crews began uncoupling the derailed cars to assess undercarriage damage.
Railway engineering crews remain on-site to lift the derailed coaches and repair damaged track sleepers, with regional authorities scheduled to issue a formal technical inquiry report once recovery operations conclude.