Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has announced an ex-gratia of 50 thousand rupees to the seriously injured and 25 thousand to passengers with simple injury in the derailment of Sialdah-Ajmer express at Rura near Kanpur this morning. On the other hand, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced financial assistance of 50,000 rupees to those seriously injured and 25,000 rupees to those who suffered minor wounds in the Sealdah-Ajmer Express derailment accident this morning.<br/> <br/>Meanwhile,the train movement on Kanpur-Delhi section is severely affected. 66 passengers injured in the accident, have been admitted to Kanpur dehat and Kanpur City hospitals. There has been no casualty in the accident.<br/> <br/>Due to complete blockage of Kanpur-Delhi route after this accident more than hundred trains are affected on this rail route. Many trains are running via diverted routes and several others have been cancelled so far.<br/> <br/>According to Railways, many more trains might be cancelled since the restoration of railway track will take more time and will be functional by tomorrow afternoon. Restoration and repair works on the accident site are going on. Senior railway officers also visited the accident site.<br/> <br/> Though the real reasons behind the derailment would be ascertained after the completion of the inquiry, according to sources it seems a possible fracture on the track caused the mishap.<br/> <br/>The Railway has ordered inquiry into the incident. Commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle, Shailesh kumar Pathak will investigate the accident.<br/> <br/>Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Railway Board's Member Traffic Mohd Jamshed said, during last three to four years, the number of rail accidents has come down from 137 to 87, however, cases of derailment have gone up from 51 to 68 this year.<br/><br/>Last month, in another rail derailment accident in the Kanpur dehat district, 150 passengers lost their lives when Indore-Rajendra Nagar Patna express derailed near Pukrayan.

The Delhi-Howrah rail route which was severely damaged due to derailment of Sealdah Ajmer Express near Rura of Kanpur Dehat has still not become functional, Rail authorities said adding that it may take twenty four hours for this important route to become operational. Work of debris removal and track service is being done on war footing by engineers. Meanwhile 13 trains have been diverted and six trains have totally or partially been cancelled, informed a release issued by railways.<br/><br/>CMO Kanpur Dehat, Dr Anita Singh, said that a total of 62 injured passengers were admitted to the district hospital today. Whereas 14 injured people with complications have been referred to Hallet hospital of Kanpur. <br/><br/>15 coaches of Sealdah Ajmer 12987 Express train were derailed near Rura railway station in Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh early this morning. The accident took place around 05.30 AM. Chief PRO of North Central Railway Bijay Kumar denied some media reports quoting a police officer that two persons lost their lives in this accident.<br/><br/>Primary reports said that the train passed through another track breaking the rail line for which it was signalled. The platform of Rura railway station was also damaged as some of overturned coaches were dragged over it. Two coaches fell in the canal which is just before Rura station which is around 50 Kms away from Kanpur. <br/><br/>Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a probe into the accident. He said, all passengers are being provided with necessary assistance to ensure least inconvenience. Mr Prabhu said, he is personally monitoring the situation. In a series of tweets, he said, thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause of the accident adding that ex gratia will be paid to the victims.<br/><br/><br/>Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, MOS of food processing has also reached the accident venue. Senior railway officials said that all the passengers have safely been evacuated from the derailed coaches. NDRF teams, local police rescue teams and railway teams are engaged in the search and rescue operation. A rescue train has reached Rura to take the passengers for their onward journey. <br/><br/>Rail movements on Kanpur -Delhi rail section are badly affected due to the derailment. The North Central Railway PRO told AIR that more than thirty trains are running late on Kanpur- Delhi section. The Kanpur Central Delhi Shatabadi train has also been cancelled. The diverted trains are running through Kanpur-Jhansi -Agra Cantt and Kanpur- Lucknow Moradabad routes. While many down line trains are running via Moradabad-Lucknow-Mugalsarai, and Aligarh -Chandauli -Bareilly routes. According to railway the closed rail section will be functional by late midnight hours. <br/><br/>The North central railway also issued helpline number at Allahabad 0532-2408149, 2408128, while for Kanpur- 0512-2323015,2323016 and 23323018.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced financial assistance of fifty thousand rupees for those who are seriously injured and 25 thousand rupees for minor injuries.