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Goods train travels 70km without its driver
Unmanned freight train travels 84km in India after engineers forget brakes, reaching close to 100km/hr. No injuries; train stopped safely by authorities. An unattended freight train travelled 84km with no one at the controls from Jammu to Punjab early on Sunday after both its engineers forgot to engage the brakes when they halted at Kathua station, ostensibly for tea.No one was injured as railway officials sounded an alarm and cleared the tracks on the way while also closing off all rail crossings over roughly two panic-filled hours, as experts said the train should have been stopped much sooner.
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The train began moving because the station is at a slope, and the gradient continues for miles, which meant the 53 wagons and the two diesel locomotives gathered enough momentum to reach what officials estimated was close to 100km/hr.
Jammu railway station director and divisional traffic manager Prateek Srivastava rushed to the Kathua station shortly after the train began
“We alerted all the stations and mobilized entire staff. A rail track was defined for the train to avoid any accident and bring it to a safe halt. We succeeded and the train was eventually stopped at Uchhi Bassi in Mukerian,” said Srivastava.
Former member (traffic) of the Indian Railway Board Shri Prakash said, “ The incident was quite dangerous and involved great risks. It could have endangered lives. However, such incidents are rare. In case of any runaway train the officials ensure that there is no collision and route is made available for the runaway train to pass the stations safely. In this case however the train was stopped too late. Efforts should have been made to stop the train within a short distance, possibly at the next station.”
Source: Hindustan Times
