Trains in Chamoli tunnel project accident do not belong to Indian Railways, clarifies Northern Railway Officer

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 31 (ANI): Reacting to reports linking Indian Railway trains to the Chamoli train collision, Northern Railway officer Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay clarified that the incident has nothing to do with Indian Railways.
The Chief Public Relations Officer further noted that these trains were part of a local transportation arrangement made by the tunnel project team.
"It is clarified that during the construction of a hydro power project, tunnel construction, an event occurred due to the local trolley transportation arrangement in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. This event has nothing to do with Indian Railways. The trains mentioned in the news are not Indian Railway trains. This is a local arrangement done by the Tunnel Project team for transportation," said Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railway.
Earlier, two loco trains collided at the under-construction site of the THDC Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Pipalkoti at Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Tuesday night.
According to the District Magistrate of Chamoli, Gaurav Kumar, the trains collided at around 9:30 pm, with 109 people on board. Out of them, around 60 passengers got injured in the accident. The District Magistrate further mentioned that 42 people have been admitted to the district hospital.
"During the time of shift-change, two loco trains operating in the tunnel collided at around 9:30 pm last night. 109 people were onboard the trains, out of whom 60 were injured, 42 people are admitted to the district hospital and 17 people are admitted to Pipalkoti's Vivekananda Hospital," said Kumar.
Following the incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took a detailed update on the incident and instructed officials to ensure that the injured receive proper medical care and are referred to higher medical centres if required.
"I am in constant contact with the District Magistrate of Chamoli regarding the accident that occurred at the TBM site of the under-construction THDC Vishnugad - Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Pipalkoti, Chamoli district. Instructions have been given to provide better medical facilities to all the injured and to refer them to higher medical centers as needed. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of all the injured workers," said CM Dhami. (ANI)