Ara derailment: Despite Railway Board warning, officials deployed crew without proper route learning

The loco pilot of the Delhi-bound Sikkim Mahananda Express, which derailed at Bihar's Ara Junction railway station on September 7, had insufficient route learning, according to railway records.

The preliminary investigation conducted soon after the incident held the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot responsible for initially overshooting a red signal and then reversing the train to return it to its original position, during which the train derailed.

The Prayagraj Division, to which the train's crew belong, suspended the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot, along with the deputy crew controller and chief loco inspector, for allegedly deploying the crew with incomplete route learning.

Deploying crew without due route learning not only violated railway rules but also went against a stern warning issued by the Railway Board just a fortnight before the derailment, stating that "strict action needs to be taken for this violation”.

The board's warning came after a red-signal overshoot by a loco pilot in Asansol Division who was deployed on a train without completing route learning.

"Booking of crew with due route learning is important. Strict action needs to be taken for this violation," the Railway Board had said in a written communication dated August 24, 2026, to all the railway zones.