Several passengers aboard the Seemanchal Express were bound for Kumbh Mela but many had to abandon their journey after the train was hit by an accident in Bihar, co-passengers said Monday.
The passengers of 12487 Anand Vihar-Jogbani Express reached Delhi in a special train around 6:30pm Monday. They recounted the harrowing experience after 11 bogies of the train derailed in Vaishali district early Sunday, apparently after a fracture in the track.
The passengers said they had people heading for the Kumbh Mela as co-passengers.
"I was in a general class compartment and many people were singing bhajans as they started their journey towards Allahabad," said Lal Kumar after reaching Anand Vihar Terminal.
Kumar, 35, who had boarded the train from Khagaria, his native place, was travelling to meet his sister in Delhi.
"In the early hours, we heard a loud thud and everyone woke up alarmed," he told PTI.
His nephew Kushal, who travelled with him, heaved a sigh of relief after they de-boarded the special train.
Hafiz Sartaz, 28, a madrassa teacher from Araria was travelling to Delhi along with four women and nine children from his extended family, said, "Allah ka shukr hai, ham salamat bach gaye (thank God, we survived)."
Sartaz said, "In the early morning darkness, I felt, the train had fell into a ditch. Only two coaches I could ahead of our's and in the rear, all I could see were derailed coaches."