Northern Railway officials on Wednesday clarified that the train collision reported from Chamoli district has no connection with Indian Railways, countering speculation triggered by early reports. The incident occurred late Tuesday night inside the under-construction Pipalkoti tunnel of the THDC Vishnugad–Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project.
According to officials, the collision involved two loco trolleys operating within the tunnel as part of a local transportation system set up by the project authorities. “This incident has nothing to do with Indian Railways. The trains mentioned are not Indian Railway trains. They are part of a local trolley arrangement made by the tunnel project team for transportation during construction work,” said Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway.
The accident took place around 9:30 pm during a shift change, when two loco trains moving inside the tunnel reportedly collided. Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar confirmed that 109 people were on board at the time of the incident. Around 60 workers sustained injuries, of whom 42 were admitted to the district hospital, while 17 were shifted to Vivekananda Hospital in Pipalkoti. Most of the injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening.
Security personnel and emergency teams were rushed to the site soon after the collision. Rescue and evacuation operations were carried out swiftly to ensure that the injured received immediate medical attention.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the situation and said he was in constant touch with district authorities. He instructed officials to provide the best possible medical care to the injured and to refer them to higher medical centres if required. “I pray for the speedy recovery of all injured workers,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.
Authorities have begun a detailed inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of the collision and to review safety protocols at the tunnel construction site, even as they reiterated that Indian Railways infrastructure or operations were not involved in the incident.
