Kolkata: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started a probe into the cause of the accident in which a goods train rammed into the Kanchanjunga Express from behind in West Bengal's Rangapani on Monday morning.

Vaishnaw added that measures will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident. He stressed that restoring train operations on the critical route connecting northeast India with the rest of the country is a top priority for the railways.

"The accident will be thoroughly investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety," Vaishnaw told reporters at the accident site in Rangapani near New Jalpaiguri station in Siliguri.

Vaishnaw confirmed that rescue operations have been completed.

"Right now our focus is on restoration. This is the main line. The rescue operation has been completed. This is not the time for politics. I will also meet the injured," Vaishnaw told reporters.

The Railway Minister also visited the North Bengal Medical College in Siliguri and met the injured.

At least eight people have died and about 25 to 30 are injured as a goods train collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express on Monday morning near New Jalpaiguri, a senior North Frontier Railway (NFR) official said.

The accident took place at Ruidhasa near Rangapani station in the Katihar Railway Division ahead of New Jalpaiguri Junction at around 8:45 am today. The area falls in the Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district.

Kanchanjunga Express, which runs between Silchar in Assam and Sealdah in Kolkata, was on its way from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah when the goods train hit it from behind, according to Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer - Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

Inputs from PTI, ANI