Fact Check: Train collision near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station? No, viral claim is misleading
A viral video claiming two trains collided near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station is viral on social media.
By M Ramesh Naik Published on 16 Nov 2024 4:57 AM GMT
Claim: Two trains collided near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station. Rescue operations are underway.
Fact: The claim is false. Railways, NDRF, and SDRF conducted a joint disaster management exercise at Lalgarh yard as part of a mock drill.
A widely circulated video on social media shows two railway bogies piled on each other while rescue teams carry out operations.
Toward the end of the video, a person says that many passengers were injured in the collision and that rescue efforts are ongoing. People sharing the video claim it shows a fatal train accident near Lalgarh railway station in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district.
An X User shared the video with the caption: “Two trains collided near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station. Rescue operations underway!!Those unfortunate people of this country do not even know that they have embarked on the last journey of their life.” (Archive)
Similar claims are shared in other posts here and here (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check:
NewsMeter found this claim to be misleading. The incident shown in the video is a disaster management mock drill conducted by the Railways, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), and SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) at the Lalgarh station yard, Rajasthan.
To verify the claim, we checked the official X Account of North Western Railway and found a post stating: “Mock drill: Two coaches climbed over each other in Lalgarh yard, 47 injured in the accident, rescue operation lasted for one and a quarter hours.” The post also clarified the context by sharing a newspaper clipping from Dainik Bhaskar. The clipping includes a photo of one train coach stacked on top of another, resembling the visuals seen in the viral video.
According to the clipping, the mock drill was conducted at Lalgarh yard between 10:10 am and 11:20 am.
To confirm this, we visited the Dainik Bhaskar Website and found an article published on 14 November 2024. The article detailed the mock drill conducted on the same day, 14 November 2024.
According to the report, Railway Deputy Divisional Manager Rupesh Kumar informed the media that the incident was a mock drill. During the exercise, forty passengers were said to be trapped. Rescue teams arrived promptly and successfully carried out the operation. Such drills are routinely conducted by the Railways.
The incident was also covered by Patrika, which published an article titled: "This is not an accident but a mock drill... the heartbeat increased after seeing coaches piled upon each other." on 14 November 2024.
According to the report, the exercise was closely monitored using drone cameras, and the footage was broadcast live to the Disaster Management Room at the Railway Divisional Office and Headquarters.
Thus, the viral video claiming that two trains collided near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station is misleading. Information from official sources and credible news outlets confirms that the event was a disaster management mock drill designed to train rescue teams for emergencies.
