A file picture of the derailed coaches of the train

Siliguri, Dec. 17: A two-day public hearing conducted by the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) started today to ascertain the cause of the derailment of 4055 DN Brahmaputra Mail.

Fourteen of the 17 coaches of the train had jumped tracks on December 9 near Nijbari station, 15km from New Jalpaiguri (NJP), killing a pantry car employee and injuring around 100 passengers.

Today, on the first day of the hearing, Balbir Singh, the CRS of the Northeast Frontier Railway, heard the railway staff members who were on duty on that day and officials whom he had summoned (even from Katihar), at the chamber of the additional divisional railway manager at NJP. “Seventy-three railway officials are likely to make their submissions before the CRS,” a source said.

Singh has already recorded the statements of the drivers of the derailed Brahmaputra Mail and other trains that had passed through the route before the accident. The patrolmen on duty, who take care of the tracks, had also presented themselves before the CRS.

Among those likely to be heard are officials from traffic operations, engineering, signals and control of NJP.

Some of the passengers on board the derailed train are likely to turn up at the hearing tomorrow. “Conducted behind closed doors, this is an important part of the inquiry,” a railway official said.