Two Britons die as Indian train derails
TWO British grandmothers died on holiday in India when a speeding tourist train derailed, throwing one of them out of a window, an inquest heard.
Loraine Tonner, 55, was flung off the train after it hit a tight bend in the Himalayan foothills. Joan Nichols, 71, was also killed.
The train set off despite having a broken speedometer, the coroner heard. An alternative way of measuring speed using the time it took to travel between telegraph poles was not used.
Retired civil servant Mrs Tonner, from Sheffield, and retired dinner lady Mrs Nichols, of South Shields, Tyneside, were among 37 Britons on the ten- day holiday organised by York-based Great Rail Journeys in September 2015.
The train derailed two miles into its 55-mile trip from Kalka to the town of Shimla, the summertime capital in the days of the British Raj. The journey is renowned for its bridges, tunnels and panoramic views.
Indian train authorities have previously said the train was travelling at 25mph on a section of track that had a 15.5mph limit.
Had the timetable been followed, it would have been travelling at 10.5mph. At the hearing, passengers described the train’s speed as ‘surprising’. Ian Calder said: ‘We quickly became concerned at the speed it was travelling at. The train continued to gather speed as we got to the corner – we heard a screeching noise and it derailed.’
Mrs Tonner’s husband, Robert Payne, now 66, told the inquest at Sheffield’s Medico-Legal Centre how he was thrown across the carriage, causing him head injuries, while his wife was ‘catapulted’ out of the win- dow. He added that he had no criticisms of Great Rail Journeys, saying: ‘They did everything they could.’
Mrs Nichols’s husband John, now 74, said yesterday after the hearing his ‘only consolation’ is that his wife died instantly. ‘She would have known nothing about what happened,’ he said.
Coroner Christopher Dorries delivered a narrative verdict, saying both women died when the train went over the speed limit.