Accident averted as Gujarat Mail damages track change point near Vadodara
Accident averted as Gujarat Mail damages track change point near Vadodara
New Delhi, The Ahmedabad-bound Gujarat Mail damaged track change points at Vadod station in the Vadodara division, allegedly due to negligence, an initial probe report has suggested.
The joint report, viewed by PTI, has been signed by the Permanent Way Inspector and Signal Department.
Sources said that the Operating Department disagreed with the probe and refused to sign it.
The probe further said that the damage of the track change points on Monday impacted the train operation.
According to the report, first, an engine was supposed to cross the said point at 3.40 am but the staff realised that the point failed to operate.
The station master and pointsman tried to rectify it and manually clamped it by 4.10 am, however, they did it wrongly, it added.
Railway sources said that minutes later, Gujarat Mail arrived, which was allowed to cross the point with a caution speed of 10 kmph under the observation of the pointsman.
The probe said that the moment it crossed the point, the pointsman heard an abnormal sound and showed the red flag to the loco pilot signalling him to immediately stop the train.
By the time the train stopped, its engine and half of the first coach had already crossed over the point, the report added.
"The staff, then, opened the wrongly fitted clamp and operated the point to normal position for the train to pass. The point was again reclamped and the train restarted to its destination at 4.40 am at a caution speed," a source said.
"However, instead of making a smooth go-ahead, it damaged the point badly," the probe suggested.
"The said point was rectified by changing several components during the day by restricting the train traffic multiple times," it added.
A section of railway staff has demanded strict action in connection with the matter.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
