On 19 October 2018, two

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

passenger

trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

rode into a crowd of people in the eastern outskirts of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. The crowd had gathered to watch celebrations for the Hindu festival of

Dussehra Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

and were standing on the tracks. The accident occurred in the early evening, killing at least 59 people and injuring approximately an additional 100.

Incident

According to local police and news media, the spectators were standing and sitting on or near the tracks in the

Joda Phatak Joda is a planned industrial and modern city and municipality in the Kendujhar district of the state of Odisha, India. The area has rich iron and manganese ore deposits and the economy centers on the large-scale production of iron ore and ...

area in the outskirts of Amritsar. The spectators were watching the burning of an

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

as part of the Dussehra festival, when a commuter train ran into the crowd. The train was described as a

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are als ...

(DMU) local passenger train travelling westbound from Jalandhar station to

. Witnesses claimed that another train, the Amritsar–Howrah Mail service, had passed in the opposite direction moments earlier, and this was later confirmed by the gateman in charge of the junction. Several witnesses claimed that the train did not blow its horn when it got close to the crowds of spectators. The driver said that he both honked and applied the emergency brakes but did not come to a complete halt because the crowd had begun to pelt the train with stones. Local

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

politician

Navjot Kaur Sidhu Navjot Kaur Sidhu is an Indian politician and former member of Punjab Legislative Assembly. She was elected to assembly in 2012 from Amritsar East as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party. She was appointed Chief Parliamentary Secretary. She i ...

, the wife of the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for Amritsar East, was the guest of honour at the event. She said she had left the site shortly before the accident occurred but that she returned as soon as she heard about it. Sidhu also said that the celebration was held there every year and that the railway authorities were alerted in advance of the need to moderate their speed.

Victims

An official told reporters that elected officials confirmed that at least 59 people were killed in the accident. By the evening of 19 October 50 bodies had been discovered and at least 50 people had been admitted to a nearby hospital while the other nine bodies were found the next day. Due to the force of the train's impact, many victims were dismembered or mutilated beyond recognition, which delayed the

body identification Body identification is a subfield of forensic science that uses a variety of scientific and non-scientific methods to identify a body. Forensic purposes are served by rigorous scientific forensic identification techniques, but these are generall ...

. A local official said that most of the victims were migrant workers and their families from the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

who lived in the area.

Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of T ...

visited some of the survivors and family members of the dead at a local hospital, on 20 October. During his visit two women met with him who had reportedly lost their entire families, including children, husbands and even in-laws. The majority of those identified were

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

at the Shitla Mata Temple in Amritsar, while a few others were sent back to their hometowns. Allegations were reported to the local media, that after the accident some of the crowd stole valuables of the victims and survivors; family members also reported that only the bodies of their relatives were returned but not their effects.

Response

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Amarinder Singh Captain Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942), is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. A former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab and Member ...

announced compensation of for the family of each of those killed, and free treatment for the injured. There was no immediate decision about any compensation from the railways. The central government also announced a compensation of for the family of each of the dead and for the injured. The state announced a day of mourning in honor of the victims, and Singh ordered an inquiry into how the accident had occurred. On 23 October,

, Minister for Local Government, Tourism and Cultural Affairs in the Punjab State Government and husband of

, who was the guest of honour at the festival, announced that he and his wife would adopt all the children who lost parents in the accident, covering their education and all other expenses, and that women who lost their husbands would also be extended all required financial help. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...

and President

Ramnath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit communit ...

offered condolences to the families of the dead and hopes that the injured would recover quickly. Video footage of the incident seemed to show several mobile phones filming after the accident, causing the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister

Omar Abdullah Omar Abdullah (; born 10 March 1970) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a governm ...

to criticise the reaction of the crowd.

Protest

The day after the accident, 20 October, some locals staged a sit-in protest on the railway tracks, demanding action from officials, the train driver, and "adequate compensation" for the victims. Some protesters demanded that the families of those killed receive government jobs, and placed blame on officials. Railway services were continued 40 hours after the incident.

Railway

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, on a visit to the United States at the time of the accident, announced his immediate return to India. The route between Jalandhar and Amritsar was suspended, and the day after the incident 37 trains were cancelled, 16 trains diverted, and 18 trains terminated early.

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

for Railways Manoj Sinha stated that the railways administration had not been informed of the festival's location or timing. A senior Indian Railways official described the incident as "a clear case of trespassing" and, when asked why the train did not stop or slow as it approached, explained that there was "so much smoke that the driver was unable to see anything and he was also negotiating a curve."

Driver

The driver reported the accident immediately to the Amritsar Junction

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...

and was detained by the Punjab Police and

Railway Police Railroad police or railway police are people responsible for the protection of railroad (or railway) properties, facilities, revenue, equipment (train cars and locomotives), and personnel, as well as carried passengers and cargo. Railroad police ...

at Ludhiana Railway Station for questioning. The driver reportedly told officials that he had received a green signal and had no idea that there were hundreds of people standing on the tracks. Railways

Manoj Sinha denied any negligence on the driver's part and stated that no action was being taken against him. The driver released a letter on 21 October which detailed his account of the crash. He said that he applied the emergency brakes and honked to disperse the crowd, but when a mob surrounded the train and threw stones at the train he continued to the next stop.

Notes

References

{{Disasters in India in 2018 2018 disasters in India Railway accidents and incidents in Punjab, India October 2018 events in India Railway accidents in 2018 Transport in Amritsar