Major rail accident averted near Kanpur

Photo: IANS


A major train accident was averted due to the alert loco pilot of 14117 Kalindi Express train when some miscreants placed a LPG cylinder on the tracks near Barrajpur station on Sunday night.

UP government has engaged ATS to investigate the incident.

ATS IG Nilabja Chaudhary has reached the spot along with his team and was investigating the spot.

He said an attempt was made to derail the train and ATS was looking at every aspect.

According to police , the LPG cylinder was full filled with gas and the train hit the cylinder even after the drivers applied emergency brakes at around 8:30 PM on Sunday.

Anwarganj Railway Station Superintendent, RPF and other officials reached the spot and investigated the spot. The accident happened about two and a half kilometers ahead of Barrajpur and five kilometers before Bilhaur station.

Along with a filled cylinder , a glass bottle with wick, matchbox, candle and a suspicious bag were found near the spot. There was some material like gunpowder in this bag.

The forensic team says that the upper part of the cylinder has been damaged. However, there has been no evidence of gas leakage from anywhere.
If the cylinder of Indane which the conspirators had kept in the middle of the track, had burst, it could have derailed the train as well as set the engine on fire, investigators expressed.

Police said broken sleepers were found lying on the track at a distance of about 50 meters from the spot. It is believed that after colliding with the Kalindi Express, which was running at a speed of about 100 kilometers per hour, the cylinder bounced in the middle of the track for about fifty meters. Because of this, wherever it fell, the sleepers were broken. However, the cylinder was eventually found lying on the side of the track.

Due to the incident, the train was detained at the spot for about 22 minutes and later was stopped at Billaur station for some time.