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.
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 mobilised 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.
A Northern Railway spokesperson did not respond to requests for a comment but a senior official in Delhi, who asked not to be named, said all track points were set in directions to ensure the train did not derail or collide with any other.
{{/usCountry}}A Northern Railway spokesperson did not respond to requests for a comment but a senior official in Delhi, who asked not to be named, said all track points were set in directions to ensure the train did not derail or collide with any other.
{{/usCountry}}“After the control message [was sent], section controllers and station masters along the way were making efforts to stop the train. Announcements were made at multiple stations to clear track,” this person said.
Srivastava added that an investigation has been opened and “if found guilty, strict action against the loco pilot will be initiated.”
“Apart from a local probe, the Railways has also ordered a high-level probe. We will conduct a detailed probe and at the same time ensure that no such incident occurs in the future,” said Srivastava.
A second person aware of the matter said three passenger trains were delayed due to the tracks being cleared for the runaway train. Railway staff placed stones and wooden blocks on the tracks to try to slow the good train down, but it was eventually an uphill gradient and some sand bags that were strategically placed near Unchi Bassi railway station that helped, this person added.
Videos of the train, numbered 14806R, barrelling down the tracks were taken by bystanders and quickly went viral on social media.
Government Railway Police (Jalandhar) sub-inspector Ashok Kumar said upon receiving information about the train all rail-road crossings on the Jalandhar-Pathankot section were secured, news agency PTI.
An official at the Kathua station, who asked not to be named, said the locomotive pilots and the co-pilot had left the engine to have tea, while another person said that this could have also been due to negligence during a duty change.
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.”