The railway officials said it arranged transport for survivors to help them proceed to their destinations in other trains and buses. The ministry released helpline numbers for the anxious relatives, who were worried for their kins travelling in the train.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed heartfelt condolences to families of deceased in the accident.

Indian Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu reached the accident spot to oversee the rescue efforts.

"Strictest possible action will be taken against those who could be responsible for accident," Prabhu wrote on twitter warned that.

He said an investigation into the crash would begin immediately and compensation would be paid to "unfortunate passengers who died and to injured".

Kanpur is a major railway junction in north India and hundreds of trains pass through it daily.

Train accidents are common in India. Experts blame the outdated infrastructure of railways for most of the accidents.

Last year Indian government announced an investment of over 137 billion US dollars over a period on next five years to boost railways and modernise it on new lines.

Indian sprawling railways is the world's third largest network, ferrying around 23 million people each day.

Last year a train accident in Uttar Pradesh killed 39 and injured 150.