Video of mock drill falsely shared as 'train collision near Rajasthan's Bikaner'

What is the claim?

Multiple social media users have posted visuals claiming to show the aftermath of a train accident near Lalgarh railway station in Bikaner, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The visuals depict one derailed rail coach on top of another, with multiple emergency teams engaged in rescuing people.

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video with a caption in Hindi that translates to: "Two trains collided near Bikaner Lalgarh railway station. Rescue operations underway!! Those unfortunate people of this country do not even know that they have embarked on the last journey of their life." The post has amassed over 534,000 views and more than 4,600 likes. Archived versions of this and similar posts are available here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of similar claims posted on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation revealed that the visuals actually show a mock drill conducted by the Railways Department at the Lalgarh station yard of the Bikaner division, not a real accident.

What are the facts?

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral visuals led to multiple news reports confirming that the video shows a mock drill exercise conducted at Lalgarh station yard in the Bikaner division.

A video (archived here) uploaded by 24 News Rajasthan on November 14, 2024, titled “Painful train collision at Bikaner railway station! Mock drill” (translated from Hindi), features visuals identical to the viral footage, confirming they depict the same event.

Comparison of the 24 News Rajasthan video (timestamp 0:23 seconds) and the viral video. (Source: YouTube/24 News Rajasthan/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Further corroboration comes from videos uploaded by news outlets such as Prabhat News, Bhaskar, and IANS (archived here and here), all of which describe the incident as a mock drill by the Railways Department.

According to a report by Patrika, the drill simulated a train accident to test the preparedness of rescue teams. It featured two rail coaches, one of which was placed partly atop the other. The exercise lasted over two hours and involved teams from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), health administration, and other civil rescue agencies. 

Bhupesh Yadav, senior DCM of the Bikaner Division, North Western Railway, confirmed to Logically Facts that no real injuries occurred during the drill.

Additionally, the official X account of North Western Railway posted, “Joint disaster management exercise was conducted by Railways, NDRF, SDRF, and other agencies in Lalgarh station yard of Bikaner division.” 

On November 15, 2024, another post included a screenshot of a news report, again clarifying that the incident was a mock drill exercise (archived here and here).

Screenshot of a post by North Western Railway. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The verdict

The visuals claiming to show a train collision near Lalgarh railway station in Bikaner actually depict a mock drill conducted by the railways administration to evaluate the readiness of rescue teams in responding to train accidents.