Train service between the Russian capital Moscow and the city of St Petersburg has resumed. It was halted following the explosion of a bomb on a train travelling between the two cities on Friday evening. The blast killed 26 people and injured more than 80 others. Eighteen people are still unaccounted for.

The explosion on the 'Nevski Express' occurred near the town of Bologoye, nearly 400 kilometres to the north-west of Moscow. Investigators found bomb fragments and a one-metre crater next to the track where four carriages derailed. Two carriages were completely toppled. Passengers said they had heard a loud bang just before the accident.

The rail link between the country's two main cities, one of the busiest in the country, has been targetted twice before. In August 2007 a bomb exploded on the track, injuring some 30 people. In 1997, five people were killed when a device went off in a train toilet.

At first there were speculations that Chechen separatists were behind the bombing. Since a number of politicians and important business people were on the train, there have been speculations in the Russian media that neo-Nazis or other ultra-nationalists may have been involved in the attack.

Locomotive with Nevski Express
Photo by Wikimedia Commons