Derailment of two containers of a goods train near Ghatshila under Kharagpur railway division around 9.20pm on Wednesday delayed both Hatia- and Howrah-bound Kriya Yoga Express.

Neeraj Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi, said the 18616 Hatia-Howrah train had to be detained at Kandra station around 1.32am and the 18615 Howrah-Hatia express was held up near Kalaikunda (near Kharagpur) around 4.34am.

"The train to Hatia arrived around 2.20pm instead of its scheduled 7.35am. The train to Howrah was delayed by over four hours. It was scheduled to reach Howrah at 6.35am," Kumar said.

Chandra Kumar Mandal (45), an Ichapur (in Bengal) resident who came to Ranchi to attend a wedding function with his wife and two daughters, said he was a second-time sufferer. "Last July, I was visiting my younger sister's house at Old Commissioner's Compound in Ranchi. The train was rescheduled from Howrah station and was delayed by five hours," he recalled.

On Wednesday, Mandal was travelling in coach S4. "My younger daughter is barely two years old. We had a hard time getting food and water for her because of the delay," he added.

Shamik Pathak (30), a resident of Ranchi who works with a private firm, was also a passenger of the jinxed train. "I had planned to join work today (Thursday), but the six-hour delay compelled me to extend my leave by another day."

Senior divisional commercial manager Kumar said the cause of derailment was being assessed. The Howrah-Hatia Kriya Yoga Express has earned bad reviews since last year. The train coming from Howrah often gets delayed because the same coaches are used in East-Coast Express (Hyderabad-Howrah).

"Whenever the East-Coast Express is delayed, the Kriya Yoga train feels the jitters. We are in the process of solving this problem since delay is reported at least once a month," Kumar added.