Major accident averted after Jodhpur-Palanpur passenger train derails in Rajasthan's Balotra

Sources said that the Jodhpur-Palanpur passenger train derailed near Samdari railway station of Balotra district of Rajasthan early today morning, but the timely action of the loco pilot helped avert a major tragedy as he applied emergency brakes saving lives of hundreds of passengers.

Balotra:A major railway accident was averted after the Jodhpur-Palanpur passenger train derailed in Balotra district of Rajasthan on Monday morning. All passengers have been reported to be safe as no casualties have been reported in the incident. Official sources said that the passenger train derailed near Samdari railway station of Balotra district of Rajasthan early today morning causing panic and chaos among the passengers.

However, the loco pilot of the train showed prompt reflexes and applied emergency brakes, due to which the passengers sitting in the train narrowly escaped and a major accident was averted, sources said. After getting information about the incident, railway officials reached the spot to take stock of the situation. It is being said that the minor accident was caused due to the presence of livestock on the railway track.

According to the passengers sitting in the train, the train left from Jodhpur at 7 pm on Sunday evening and was bound for Palanpur. The passengers said that ahead of some distance before Samdari railway station, there was a sudden loud bang as the compartments of the train shook leaving the passengers in panic.

“Everyone got scared due to the sudden halting of the train. When the passengers got down, they found that a wheel of one compartment of the train had broke down. However, no passenger was injured in this incident,” a passenger said. Pankaj Singh, DRM (Division Railway Manager) of Jodhpur Railway Division said the loco pilot of the train told him that a livestock had come on the railway track before Samdari railway station.

For safety reasons, the pilot applied emergency brakes which saved lives of hundreds of passengers, he said. He said that due to the timely action of the train pilot, a major accident was averted. Arrangements were made to take the train passengers to their respective destinations through buses, he added.