7 railway men suspended as coaches roll down track without engine

April 08, 2018 17:52

Seven railway men were suspended in connection with lapses that led to 22 coaches of an express train with passengers on board to travel a few km without an engine in Odisha, a railway spokesman said today.

A possible disaster was averted after alert staff put stones on the track and brought the Ahmedabad-Puri Express to a halt late last night, the East Coast Railway spokesman said, adding all the passengers were safe.

While five railway personnel were placed under suspension this morning, two had been suspended soon after the coaches of the train rolled down the track at Titlagarh in Balangir district after detachment of the engine, he said.

Two engine drivers, three carriage repairing staff and two operating department employees were placed under suspension, he said.

The coaches travelled from Titlagarh station towards Kesinga in Kalahandi district after the engine was detached to be attached at the other end, the spokesman said, adding the section from Titlagarh towards Kesinga has a downward slope.

The incident happened apparently due to non-application of skid-brakes on the wheels of the coaches by the staff deployed there. According to rules, the staff should have put the skid-brakes, he said.

"When an engine is detached to be attached at the other end, coaches should be secured with wheel skid-brakes. In this case, it appears that skid-brakes were not placed properly. Facts will be known after a detailed enquiry," he said.

Divisional Railway Manager, Sambalpur, Jaideep Gupta has ordered a probe by divisional heads of different departments, the spokesman said.

Soon after the incident, an engine was sent from Titlagarh to ferry the coaches back, he said. -- PTI

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