Train turns up at wrong Delhi station after losing track, official suspended

Train number 64464 reached Subzi Mandi station in Delhi as per schedule, but its route was mistakenly set for Old Delhi instead of New Delhi by the panel operator.

A short-distance train bound for New Delhi railway station from Panipat unexpectedly ended up at Old Delhi station on Tuesday morning after an alleged mistake by an official manning the route controls, people familiar with the matter said.

A general view of New Delhi Railway Station. (HT File Photo)

Train number 64464 reached Subzi Mandi station in Delhi as per schedule, but its route was mistakenly set for Old Delhi instead of New Delhi by the panel operator – perhaps due to confusion over two trains with similar numbers travelling from two Haryana towns with rhyming names— Panipat and Sonipat. Train number 64004 from Sonipat was bound for Old Delhi.

The driver and passengers discovered the mistake only when the train pulled into the platform at 7.50am. The train was then sent back to its scheduled destination.

The error rekindled safety fears in the world’s fourth largest train network, which runs at least 7,000 passenger trains every day and ferries more than 20 million people.

“It has no way affected the safety of train operation… The staff concerned has been suspended for this lapse,” a railway spokesperson said. He explained that the mix-up may have also been because the Panipat train arrived at Sabzi Mandi when the Sonipat train was expected.