Railway Board chairman AK Mittal stepped down from his position on Wednesday. Railway Board chairman AK Mittal stepped down from his position on Wednesday.

Railway Board chairman AK Mital tendered his resignation on Wednesday. This comes after two express trains derailed in the last four days. In July, Mital became the first Railway Board chairman in history to be granted a two-year extension. His appointment was cleared by the Prime Minister’s Office. It was not immediately known if his resignation has been accepted by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu. A confirmation is awaited.

Mital would have gone on to become the longest serving Chairman Railway Board (CRB) in history had he remained in office till the end of his tenure, July 2018. Mital is a 1976-batch officer of the Indian Railway Stores Service. He already held the distinction of being the first from this service to get the top job in the Railways.

On August 19, over 20 passengers died and 97 were injured after 14 coaches of the Utkal Express derailed near Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh. The Railways are probing whether the accident happened due to ongoing work on the railway line. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu cracked the whip as several top officials were either sent on leave or have been suspended.

READ | Who is A K Mital?

Just three days later, nine coaches of the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya after a collision with a dumper carrying sand. At least 70 passengers have been injured in the incident. There are, however, no reports of casualties so far.

In the last five years, nearly 53 per cent of the 586 train accidents were due to derailments. The worst of them happened in November 2016 when 150 passengers died after the Indore-Patna Express derailed.

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