Railway Crossing Disaster in India: Express Train Collides With Tractor in Uttar Pradesh, Three Killed

Lucknow, India— An express train struck a tractor at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh on October 20, killing three people after the tractor attempted to cross the tracks as the train approached.

The accident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. near a village in Hardoi district, on the Lucknow-Delhi main line. The tractor-trolley was carrying three men, reportedly farmers returning from a field with sugarcane. The crossing had no gate, no guard, and no warning signal. Villagers said trains pass every 20 minutes. The tractor driver apparently misjudged the speed of the approaching train.

The train, the Saryu Yamuna Express, was running at around 90 kilometers per hour. It hit the tractor in the middle of the crossing. The impact threw the tractor 30 meters down the tracks. The trolley overturned. All three men on the tractor were killed instantly. Their bodies were found scattered near the tracks. The train's engine suffered minor damage. No passengers on the train were injured, but the train was halted for two hours.

Unmanned level crossings are a persistent killer on Indian Railways. Despite a drive to eliminate them, more than 1,000 remain in Uttar Pradesh alone, mostly on rural branch lines and at private crossings used by farmers. The railway ministry had promised to close all unmanned crossings by 2020, but new ones appear as villages build unauthorized dirt roads across tracks.

Local residents said they had demanded a manned crossing for years. A written petition was submitted to the divisional railway manager last year after a similar accident killed two people at the same spot. No action was taken. "We have to cross to reach our fields," said a farmer. "There is no alternative road. The railway knows." Indian Railways said an inquiry has been ordered.

The locomotive pilot told investigators he blew the horn and applied emergency brakes when he saw the tractor. The distance was too short to stop. A railway spokesperson said, "Unmanned crossings require road users to stop, look, and listen. The tractor driver did not." Villagers said the train's horn is often not heard over the noise of tractors and wind.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem at Hardoi district hospital. The district administration announced ex gratia compensation for families. The railway said it will examine whether a limited-height subway can be built at the site to prevent future accidents. Until then, the crossing remains open and unguarded.

The train resumed its journey after police cleared the tracks. The mangled tractor remains beside the line. The crossing is still without a gate.