A freight train travelled over 70 kilometres from Kathua station in Jammu and Kashmir to a village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district without its drivers on Sunday. The diesel locomotive-hauled goods train gained a speed of nearly 100 km/hr along the way before it was finally stopped near Unchi Bassi railway station in Punjab with the assistance of sandbags.
The 53-wagon train was loaded with chip stones and was on its way to Punjab from Jammu. A video of the train has surfaced on the internet showing it passing by a station at a very high speed.
bhagwan bharose…A Goods Train started to move without driver…!!!
This freight train traveled from Kathua, Jammu to Hoshiarpur, Punjab without a driver. It covered a distance of about 70 kilometers. It was somehow stopped in Punjab..!!@kapsology @AshwiniVaishnaw pic.twitter.com/vUPTQ2yWqq
— Dr Ranjan (@AAPforNewIndia) February 25, 2024
The train had stopped at the Kathua railway station in Jammu for a driver change and it seems that it began to roll down a slope gradient track on the Jammu-Jalandhar section, a spokesperson of the Northern Railway said, citing preliminary information.
After starting the train, the driver reportedly went somewhere but forgot to put a hand break, due to which it started running on a slope towards Pathankot.
Both drivers — loco pilot and assistant loco pilot — were not on board the freight train at the time, the officials said.
No casualty or damage to property has been reported, they said and added that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place between 7.25 am and 9 am.
#WATCH | Hoshiarpur, Punjab: The freight train, which was at a halt at Kathua Station, was stopped near Ucchi Bassi in Mukerian Punjab. The train had suddenly started running without the driver, due to a slope https://t.co/ll2PSrjY1I pic.twitter.com/9SlPyPBjqr— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2024
“An inquiry has been initiated to know the exact cause of the incident. Prima facie, it seems that the train started rolling down the slope gradient towards Punjab without the driver and his assistant,” said Divisional Traffic Manager, Jammu, Prateek Srivastava according to news agency PTI.
He said the train came to a halt near Unchi Bassi due to a steep gradient, after covering a distance of more than 70 km. It was successfully halted with the assistance of sandbags.
Whether the train had been “secured” properly at Kathua on the down gradient is a matter of investigation, the spokesperson said and added that an in-depth probe is underway.
Railway officials and staffers were put on alert along the route and all rail-road crossings on the Jalandhar-Pathankot section were secured, said Government Railway Police (Jalandhar) Sub-Inspector Ashok Kumar.
