Train mows down 2 jumbos in Alipurduar
.
Pinak Priya Bhattacharya : Alipurduar :TNN
.
Rail Officials Take 12 Hrs To Put Derailed Train Back On Tracks; Foresters File FIR Against Driver
....
more...

The 168-km railway tracks between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar has again proved fatal for the elephants of Dooars.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, a Guwahati-bound special train ferrying Army jawans rammed into two jumbos -a mother and a calf -killing both on the spot. This takes the jumbo death toll on this stretch to 20 since last year. The accident took place between Hasimara and Hamiltongunj near Madhu tea estate around 2am.
.
A herd of some 20 elephants was crossing the railway tracks which crisscross a traditional elephant corridor. The train was going so fast that the driver could not stop hitting the elephants although he pulled the brakes on seeing the herd.
.
The carcasses of the calf and its mother remained on the tracks for hours. The train got derailed in the collision and it took 12 hours to put it back on tracks. Meanwhile, train movement remained suspended on the Alipurduar Junction-NJP route. Some trains were diverted to the New Alipurduar-NJP line.
.
After the accident, conservationists cautioned that not only elephants, even passengers' lives are at stake.
“The calf 's carcass got entangled in the wheels and derailed the train. The same thing had happened when six elephants were crushed by a speeding train on Jaldhaka bridge last year. For the safety of passengers and elephants, train movement on this section should be restricted, especially at night,“ said state wildlife advisory board member Animesh Basu.
.
The railways have `closed' the train's driver, A Shekhar, and gateman Rajesh Burman. “It was sheer carelessness by the loco driver. It seems he was going faster than the seed limit of 50kmph,“ said a senior forest officer.