The locomotive of the Howrah-bound Rajdhani Express that jumped the rails on Monday was not being maintained properly, according to a senior railway board official in New Delhi.

“Prima facie it seems that there were lapses in the maintenance of the locomotive. We should be able to confirm whether that caused the derailment once the inquiry team submits its report within three days,” the official told Metro.

The railways’ maintenance schedule for locomotives and rakes is an elaborate one but two recent incidents, including the one in June involving the Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express, have raised questions about whether these procedures are being followed by the book.

The Rajdhani Express engine, which is the most sophisticated of the WAP-7 series of locomotives to join the Indian Railways fleet, is supposed to follow a stringent 90-day maintenance schedule.

“The derailed engine had last undergone a thorough maintenance on June 22 and the next one was due on September 22. We are now looking into whether the last round was done in a negligent manner,” the official said.

The maintenance teams at both East Central Railway’s locomotive shed at Gomoh in Bihar and the one in Delhi are under the scanner.

“The primary maintenance of the locomotive was done at East Central Railway’s Gomoh maintenance base. The secondary maintenance was done in Delhi before the locomotive started its journey on Sunday,” said a railway official.

Sources said the addition of several new long-distance trains since railway minister Mamata Banerjee took charge had added to the pressure on the already stretched locomotive maintenance system. “Given the circumstances, normal maintenance schedules cannot always be followed strictly,” claimed an official.

On Monday, the tread brake unit of the Rajdhani Express got unhinged, triggering the derailment at Baruipara that forced passengers to board a local train for the remaining 27km journey to Howrah. The damaged equipment grazed the track for more than a kilometre, leaving over 300 torn pandrol clips strewn on the tracks.

The four-member probe team visited the accident site on Tuesday. “We need to initiate steps to make the procedures and safety norms more stringent,” the railway board official said.