The derailment of New Farakka Express on Wednesday is the second major rail accident this year, which has so far registered the best safety figures in the past five years, according to official data.
The other incident was the death of 13 school children on April 26 after a train rammed into their school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district when its driver who was wearing earphones was unable to hear the approaching train.
Seven persons died and nine were seriously injured when nine coaches and the engine went jumped tracks on Wednesday near Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
With 40 deaths in 75 accidents between September 2017 and August 2018, the railways has registered its best safety figures in five years for the corresponding 12-month period, the data showed.
While between September 2016 and August 2017, there were 80 train accidents and 249 fatalities - the Indore-Patna Express derailment near Kanpur in November 2016 alone had killed over 150 passengers - in the corresponding period for 2017 and 2018, the number of deaths stood at 40, the data said.
The derailment of Utkal Express in August 2017 killed 22 people.
Between September 2013 and August 2014, the number of deaths was 275 in 139 accidents, in the corresponding period in 2014-2015, the number was 196 deaths in 108 accidents.
The rest 36 deaths in 2017-2018 were due to other factors such as mishaps at unmanned-level crossings (28 fatalities), six deaths at manned-level crossings, one in a coach fire accidents and one in "miscellaneous" accidents, according to the data.
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