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1st LD Writethru: Indian Railways denies reports of train derailment, says it's mock drill

Xinhua, January 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

Indian Railways Tuesday denied reports of any train derailment and said that it was just a mock drill to check the response time of disaster.

"No derailment of Patna-Bhabua Intercity Express took place at Khakim railway station in eastern Indian state of Bihar's Aurangabad district. It was only a mock drill," a railway official said.

Reports of a passenger train derailing in Bihar's Aurangabad district late this night was earlier flashed across TV channels, quoting some senior officials.

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest train networks, and cris-crosses the country from north to south, carrying some five million passengers daily.

Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date. Last year, the government announced investments of 137 billion U.S. dollars to modernise the railways. Endit