Train engine derails as Maoists blow up rail track in Bihar

A pilot engine running ahead of the Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express was derailed after the railway track was blown up in Bihar during a shutdown by Maoists, authorities said Wednesday.

Maoists blasted a railway track and a mobile tower in Bihar during their 24 hours shutdown to protest the killing of two people in police firing in Aurangabad district, police said Wednesday.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Magadh range, P.K. Shrivastava said Maoists blew up the railway track between Ismailpur and Rafiganj section late Tuesday night and blasted a mobile tower in Aurangabad early Wednesday.

"It was an attempt to create terror and panic by Maoists," he said.

Arvind Kumar Rajak, chief public relations officer East Central Railway, said here that a major accident was averted as the pilot engine running ahead of the Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express was derailed after track was blasted.

"No casualty was reported but the incident disrupted railway traffic. Nearly a dozen trains including three Rajdhani Express trains have been stranded at various places between Gaya and Mughalsarai," he said.

Razak said repair work is on and train traffic is likely to resume soon.

Maoists also blew up a mobile tower in Mirganj village in Aurangabad, police said.