Passengers travel atop a train on the Kiul-Sahibganj loop section. Picture by Amit Kumar

Jitu Kumar (18) from Gorghat fell off the Jamalpur-Sahibganj passenger train near Lailakh station on Friday.

He was virtually hanging from the door of an overcrowded compartment. “As the train rolled into Lailakh station, passengers wanting to alight began pushing against me. My hand slipped and I fell beside the track. I escaped with minor injuries,” he said.

Jitendar Kumar, a medical representative, was on the Gaya-Rampurhat Passenger on September 9 when two persons sitting atop the train fell as it reached Vikramshila halt. They got hurt.” There has been a rise in such accidents on the Kiul-Sahibganj loop section of Eastern Railway. The passenger trains were always overcrowded but it got worse after the floods damaged NH-80. With traffic movement paralysed, the railway is the sole option for commuters from Bhagalpur and Munger districts.

Five passenger trains run on the section, namely Barddhaman Passenger, Rajgir-Howrah Passenger, Rampurhat-Gaya Passenger, Jamalpur-Sahibganj Passenger and a flood special from Jamalpur to Sahibganj since August 29. The flood victims travel short distances but the trains are crowded, so some travel on rooftops.

Malda divisional railway manager Ravindar Gupta had said the special train would run till September 16.

Gupta could not be contacted to know if the service would be extended. Bhagalpur railway station manager Onkar Prasad said the way passengers were travelling could lead to a major accident.