Bilaspur, India — A passenger train collided with a stationary cargo train in central India late Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and injuring around 20 others, officials said.
The accident occurred near Bilaspur, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state. According to senior government official Sanjay Agarwal, the passenger train struck the rear of the goods train at high speed. One of the passenger coaches was thrust upward and came to rest atop a freight wagon.
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Rescue teams worked through the night, cutting through mangled metal to reach trapped passengers. “After hours of effort, we brought the coach down and recovered three more bodies,” Agarwal told the Associated Press. The rescue operation concluded early Wednesday, and train movement on the affected line has since resumed.
Among the dead was the passenger train’s loco pilot (engine driver), while his co-pilot, a woman, was critically injured and admitted to a private hospital. The remaining victims included passengers in the front coaches, which bore the brunt of the impact.
Around 20 passengers were taken to local hospitals in Bilaspur and Raipur for treatment, officials said.
Indian Railways, the national operator, said an investigation had been launched to determine the cause of the collision. It also announced compensation for the families of those killed and injured. Preliminary reports suggest the passenger train may have ignored a signal or there was a communication failure on the line.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed condolences to the victims’ families, saying the state government would assist with relief efforts.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic train accident in Bilaspur. My prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Sai said in a post on X.
Train collisions and derailments remain a persistent challenge for India’s vast rail network — one of the world’s largest, carrying over 12 million passengers daily across 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track. Despite modernization efforts and investments in automated signaling, safety lapses and aging infrastructure continue to cause accidents.
In June 2023, a three-train collision in the eastern state of Odisha killed more than 280 people, marking one of India’s worst railway disasters in decades.
Tuesday’s crash once again highlights the urgent need for upgrades in India’s rail safety systems and stricter monitoring of operational protocols to prevent such tragedies.
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