Chamoli Tunnel Accident: 65 Injured in THDC Loco Train Collision; Safety Audit Ordered

Safety is under the microscope again in the Himalayas. As of Wednesday, December 31, 2025, officials are scrambling to figure out how two loco trains—essentially the lifelines of underground construction—ended up on a head-on collision course deep inside a mountain tunnel in Chamoli.

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The thing is, this happened at roughly 8:30 PM last night during the “handover” between shifts. Or nothing. Let’s be real, when you have 109 people crammed into transport trolleys 4.5 kilometers inside a 444-MW project, “panic” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Those too.

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The Incident: Field Notes

The collision took place at the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project, run by THDC. Here is the latest from the ground:

• The Toll: Around 65 workers were injured. Most have been discharged after first aid, but about 42 are still being monitored at the District Hospital in Gopeshwar.

• The “Sound”: Sources at the site say the impact was “deafening.” Because it was a shift change, one train was ferryng workers in while the other was stationary or moving out with the previous crew.

• The Cause: Initial murmurs point to a signaling glitch or a massive communication breakdown. A high-level inquiry has been ordered to find out why two trains were cleared for the same stretch of track.

• The “Not Us” Clarification: Indian Railways was quick to issue a statement today—these aren’t their trains. These are local, project-specific trolleys used exclusively for tunneling.

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A Pattern of “Tunnel Terror”?

It’s an ongoing situation where the fragile Himalayan geology is constantly pushing back.

1. August 2025: Just a few months ago, a landslide at this same site injured 12 workers.

2. Safety Lapses: Unions are already pointing to “overworked shifts” and poor lighting inside the 13.4-km headrace tunnel.

3. Completion Pressure: The project is slated for 2026, and there’s a sense that the rush to meet deadlines might be cutting corners on “boring” stuff like transport protocols.

And here’s the kicker: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been on the phone with the District Magistrate all morning. He’s ordered that any worker needing specialized care be airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh immediately.

Basically, the project is on pause while they run a “safety audit.” But for the workers from Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand who make up the bulk of the crew, the fear of going back into that mountain is very real.

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End…

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