A major accident was averted after an alert loco pilot noticed a suspicious object on railway track and stopped the train in time in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Sunday.
According to reports, the Pushpak Express from Mumbai to Lucknow was arriving at the Govindpuri station when the loco pilot noticed a fire safety cylinder lying on the tracks in the evening.
The driver could promptly apply the break as train speed was slow. According to an NDTV report, the fire extinguisher found on the track was issued by the railways.
The incident was the latest in a series of similar cases where gas cylinders, pillars etc were found on railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh over the last one month.
On Saturday, the engine of a train hit a stone placed on the railway track on the Varanasi-Ballia-Chhapra rail section in the Bairia area of Ballia. The No. 15054 Express train was going from Lucknow to Chhapra (Bihar).
Railways said said on seeing the stone placed on the track, the loco pilot applied emergency brakes.
Previous incidents
September 22: A goods train driver spotted an empty LPG cylinder on the tracks, and applied emergency brakes to stop the train near the Prempur station in Kanpur.
September 18: A six-metre-long iron pole was found placed on the railway track in an apparent attempt to derail the Naini Jan Shatabdi Express in Rampur. The loco pilot averted the possible accident by applying the emergency break. Two persons were arrested.
September 8: The Kalindi Express hit an LPG cylinder placed on the track an an attempt to derail Kalindi Express, heading towards Bhiwani from Prayagraj.