Four killed in India train crash: Police

NEW DEHLI: Four people were killed in eastern India on Wednesday when a goods train collided with a Delhi-bound passenger express, police said.

One passenger carriage was thrown off the track in the state of Jharkhand in the crash, which occurred around dawn in foggy conditions.

"Four people have died and five have been admitted to hospital with injuries," local police official Vijaya Laxmi told AFP by telephone.

"There are no further reported injuries, we are now repairing the track and expect things to get back to normal in a few hours," she added. "There was fog, so I think the visibility was low."

India's last major train accident was in July when a packed train travelling from the eastern city of Kolkata to New Delhi derailed at high speed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, killing 63 people.

India's state-run railway system – still the main form of long-distance travel despite fierce competition from new private airlines – carries 18.5 million people every day.

Experts say the system, the world's second-largest under a single management group, is in need of new investment to improve safety and help end transport bottlenecks.