Eastern India Track Derailment Kills Two Workers, Maintenance Crew Safety Under Scrutiny Now

Kolkata, India— Two railway maintenance workers died early Saturday when their track maintenance vehicle derailed during scheduled work in eastern India.

The accident occurred just before 6 a.m. on October 25, 2026 near a maintenance block between Kharagpur and Midnapore. The crew was running a motor trolley loaded with rails and tools. The trolley left the tracks on a curve. It dragged ten meters before toppling into the ballast.

Both men were trapped under the frame. Other crew members flagged down the approaching patrol. They had no heavy lifting gear. It took nearly forty minutes to free the bodies.

Press Trust of India identified the victims as contractual track maintainers aged 32 and 41, both from West Bengal. Indian Railways said they were part of a six-man gang assigned to replace worn sleepers. The section was under a routine traffic block, with no passenger trains scheduled.

A senior divisional engineer said the trolley appeared to have hit a misaligned joint. "The track was already open for maintenance. That is the point. Something shifted during the work window," he said. He declined to assign blame before the measurement report.

Indian Railways has ordered a junior administrative grade inquiry. Track geometry data, trolley wheel condition, and gang working diaries have been collected. The Commissioner of Railway Safety will review whether the standard load limit for motor trolleys was exceeded.

Union representatives arrived at the site by mid-morning. They said contract crews work with aging trolleys and limited braking. "These machines are old. Maintenance is patchy. Men ride with loose material," a Eastern Railway contract workers union organizer said.

The block was extended by six hours. Two goods trains were diverted. The bodies were sent for post-mortem to Kharagpur sub-divisional hospital. Families have been notified and ex-gratia compensation was announced.

Traffic resumed on the up line at 2 p.m. The derailed trolley remained in the cess, cordoned off by railway police.