At least 20 people were injured, some critically, when 11 train coaches derailed early on Wednesday in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the country's fifth major rail accident in the past year and only days after 23 people were killed in another derailment.

Northern Railways spokesperson Neeraj Sharma said the Kaifiyat Express traveling from Azamgarh to the capital Delhi collided with a dumper carrying construction material around 2110 GMT, causing the coaches to derail.

Central Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted that several of the injured had been taken to nearby hospitals.

Twenty three people were killed and at least 123 were injured last Saturday in Uttar Pradesh when 13 coaches of a train came off the tracks as it was heading to the Hindu holy city of Haridwar.

India's railway system is the world's fourth biggest rail network, but it is grappling with chronic under-investment and over-crowding.

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