KOLKATA/SURI: An express
train from Howrah to Dhanbad in Jharkhand took the wrong tracks and
ended up heading for Bolpur on Monday evening.
It was a good 6-7km before the error was spotted and the 12339 Coalfield Express started backing up slowly. Passengers knew something was wrong when they started going back the way they had come. Red-faced Eastern Railway officials admitted that the mistake could have led to a major accident. Train services have been badly affected in the east since morning due to dense fog.
The train had Howrah at 5.20pm. Till Khana Jn (the second station after Burdwan), trains moving towards Dhanbad and beyond follow the same route as those bound for Bolpur, Rampurhat and North Bengal. After Khana, the express was to move to Galsi but the line it took would have taken it to Jhapater Dhal instead.
The changing of tracks takes place at Burdwan itself. Though trains on both routes cross the Talit and Khana Jn stations, they do so on different tracks. The error was not noticed till Burdwan where the Coalfield Express doesn't have a stoppage. It seems that the driver sped across the station after getting a green signal and it was not possible for him to make out that he was being diverted towards Bolpur, say sources.
It was 100 metres from Talit when station staff realized that the Coalfield Express had lost its way. The train was stopped at 7.30pm by "alert railwaymen", an official said. "There was no possibility of a head-on collision. However, had the train moved further ahead, its pantographs could have got entangled as it is a non-electrified section. It seems that those in charge mistook the Coalfield Express for some other train," an official from Burdwan Jn said.
Sources said a high-level inquiry was ordered into the incident.
It was a good 6-7km before the error was spotted and the 12339 Coalfield Express started backing up slowly. Passengers knew something was wrong when they started going back the way they had come. Red-faced Eastern Railway officials admitted that the mistake could have led to a major accident. Train services have been badly affected in the east since morning due to dense fog.
The train had Howrah at 5.20pm. Till Khana Jn (the second station after Burdwan), trains moving towards Dhanbad and beyond follow the same route as those bound for Bolpur, Rampurhat and North Bengal. After Khana, the express was to move to Galsi but the line it took would have taken it to Jhapater Dhal instead.
The changing of tracks takes place at Burdwan itself. Though trains on both routes cross the Talit and Khana Jn stations, they do so on different tracks. The error was not noticed till Burdwan where the Coalfield Express doesn't have a stoppage. It seems that the driver sped across the station after getting a green signal and it was not possible for him to make out that he was being diverted towards Bolpur, say sources.
It was 100 metres from Talit when station staff realized that the Coalfield Express had lost its way. The train was stopped at 7.30pm by "alert railwaymen", an official said. "There was no possibility of a head-on collision. However, had the train moved further ahead, its pantographs could have got entangled as it is a non-electrified section. It seems that those in charge mistook the Coalfield Express for some other train," an official from Burdwan Jn said.
Sources said a high-level inquiry was ordered into the incident.
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