37 trains cancelled, 16 diverted

New Delhi, Oct. 20: The railways cancelled 37 trains and diverted 16 trains on Saturday, a day after Dussehra revellers were mowed down by a train while they were watching the burning of a Ravan effigy while standing on the tracks near Amritsar, officials said.

Sixty- one people were killed and more than 70 injured in the tragedy.

Giving details, the railways said 10 mail/ express trains and 27 passenger trains were cancelled. While 16 trains were diverted and reached their destination through a different route, 18 trains were short terminated, northern railways spokesperson Deepak Kumar said.

The route between Jalandhar and Amritsar was suspended, he said.

The railways maintains it had no information about the Dussehra function held near the tracks.

Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani said in a statement that the accident occurred at a midsection between the Amritsar and Manawala stations and not at a level crossing.

“The event took place at a place adjoining the railway land in private property,” he said.

“At midsections trains run at their assigned speeds and people are not expected to be on the tracks. At midsections there is no railway staff posted. We have staff at the level crossings whose job is to regulate traffic,” he added.