Two freight trains derail in Russia, disrupt rail operations

Saint Petersburg, Nov 10 (IANS) Two separate freight train derailments disrupted rail operations in northwestern Russia on Monday, though no injuries or environmental damage were reported, Russian transport authorities said on Telegram.

In the Murmansk region, five freight cars carrying fuel oil derailed at Apatity station of the Oktyabrskaya Railway at around 11:12 a.m. Moscow time (0812 GMT), the railway's press service said.

The incident took place during shunting operations. No injuries were reported, and officials said there was no threat to nearby residents, Xinhua news agency reported. Emergency response teams, including two recovery trains, were dispatched to the site. The derailment did not affect overall rail traffic, and no fuel leakage was detected, according to the Northwestern Transport Prosecutor's Office.

Another derailment occurred in the Leningrad region, where four freight cars loaded with crushed stone went off the tracks at the Yanega station. The wagons remained upright, but the incident caused delays for a passenger train traveling between St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk, as well as 17 freight trains, the prosecutor's office said.

Earlier this year, seven people were killed and 35 others injured following a passenger train derailment in Russia's Bryansk Oblast bordering Ukraine and Belarus, caused by the collapse of a road bridge above the train tracks.

The accident occurred in the Vygonichsky District on May 31. The debris from the collapsed bridge fell onto the train traveling underneath, causing serious casualties, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

Passengers on the train have been evacuated to temporary shelters and will continue their journey on a replacement train. Additionally, a truck traveling on the bridge was also damaged in the collapse.

--IANS

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