“We were on the train when suddenly there was a loud noise, and no one understood what had happened,” said a passenger on the train that derailed in Tamil Nadu.

At least seven people were injured in a train collision last night in Tamil Nadu when the Mysuru-Darbhanga Express slammed into a stationary goods train at Kavarapettai. The express passenger train entered a loop line instead of the main line at around 8.30 pm on Friday and rammed into the parked good train. The severe collision resulted in the derailment of 12 bogies of the passenger train.

Restoration work underway after an express train rammed into a stationary train on Friday, at Kavaraipettai.(PTI)

Describing the chaos, one of the passengers said that no one understood what had happened when they heard the loud noise, and soon after the train overturned.

"We were on the train when suddenly there was a loud noise, and no one understood what had happened. After about five minutes, when we looked outside, we saw the train had overturned, and there was complete chaos," the passenger told news agency PTI.

"Some coaches were on fire, and others had derailed. We quickly went to a nearby local station. We are safe and unharmed," he added.

Investigation and Response

A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Commissioner of Railway Safety, A M Chowdhary, conducted a statutory inspection of the accident site, assisted by senior Southern Railway officials.

Southern Railway General Manager, RN Singh, explained the collision, stating, "It was not supposed to stop here (Kavaraipettai station), so it was to pass through it. After leaving Chennai, green signals were given for this train. The driver was following the signals correctly, but the train should have taken the main line. Instead, it took the loop line at the switch, which is where the error occurred."

Video: Mysuru–Darbhanga Bagmati Express Collides With A Goods Train In Tamil Nadu

"While entering the Kavarapettai station, the train crew experienced a heavy jerk, and instead of going into the main line as per the signal given, the train running at a speed of 75 kmph entered into a loop line. It hit a goods train stationed on the loop line from behind," a Southern Railways official said.