Six officials suspended, probe ordered after goods train travels driverless
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Chandigarh: The Indian Railways suspended six officials and ordered a high-level investigation on Monday after a goods train ran driverless for about 70 kilometres at 100 kilometres per hour from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, passing through five stations before coming to a halt near Unchi Bassi railway station in Punjab, according to a senior official.
A team of top railway personnel visited the Kathua train station to investigate the issue, and they will submit their report to higher authorities, Sanjay Sahu, Divisional Railway Manager for Ferozepur Division, stated, the New Indian Express reported.
“The six officials who were suspended included the station master, traffic master and point man of Kathua, and loco pilot, assistant loco pilot and loco inspector of the train,” Sahu said. “The committee will submit a detailed report after looking into the reasons behind the negligence. On the basis of the report, further action will be taken,” the DRM said.
According to Sahu, the initial investigation found that the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot left the train unattended as the crew was to change at Kathua station. “It was a diesel locomotive but even the engine was not operational before the train started moving.
The train began moving because of the steep slope at the station due to which it gained enough momentum to travel several kilometres. The inquiry committee will look into the reasons behind how the train kept moving at such a high speed even as the engines were not operational,” he said.
The train came to a halt near Unchi Bassi due to a high incline after travelling over 70 kilometres. Sahu stated that the good train was transporting railway material.
The official stated that a few passenger trains were delayed as the tracks were cleared for the runaway train. The railway crew placed stones and wooden blocks on the tracks to try to slow the freight train down, but it was ultimately an uphill gradient and some strategically placed sandbags near Unchi Bassi railway station helped to stop the locomotive.
“We were waiting for the speed to come down as we were ready to derail the train at a secluded place. The train lost momentum as we put hindrances, including sand, stones and wooden blocks, on the track at many places before we managed to stop it near Ucchi Bassi,” Sahu said. The DRM said that they had tried to avoid any tragedy so every precaution was taken and emergency services activated.
