Chairperson and Managing Director of Air India has been appointed the new chief of the Railway Board, ANI reported. This comes after several reports suggested that the incumbent Railway Board chairperson Aditya Kumar Mittal had resigned from his post. Rajiv Bansal will be the next Air India chief managing director.

The shuffle comes after two consecutive train accidents that took place in less than a week. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said he had offered to resign from his post, however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to wait before making a final decision.

On Wednesday morning, 10 coaches of the Kaifiyat Express had derailed near Suraiya in Uttar Pradesh injuring at least 74 people. On August 19, the Utkal Express heading to Haridwar from Puri went off tracks. At least 24 passengers were killed and more than 150 were injured.

Mittal had been sent on leave on Sunday after the investigations in the Utkal Express derailment began. Prima facie evidence had showed negligence on the part of maintenance staff as the reason for the accident.

Mittal had been granted a two-year extension as the Railway Board chairperson in July 2016, The Hindu reported. Had he finished his tenure, he would have become the longest serving chief of the railway board.