Chandigarh: Two freight trains collided in Sri Fatehgarh Sahib in the wee hours of Sunday, Railway officials said. The engine of one of them overturned and collided with a passenger train passing on the side track. Two pilots of the freight train were injured, who were referred to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, officials added.
This accident was similar to the accident that happened in Balasore, Odisha in 2023. The outline of the accident that happened in Sri Fatehgarh Sahib at around 4 AM is somewhat similar, but due to slow speed, a major accident has been avoided.
According to the information received, a train loaded with coal was standing at New Sirhind station of the dedicated freight corridor, which was to be sent to Ropar. Another train loaded with coal came from behind on the same track, which collided with the coal freight train.
Due to this, the engine of the goods train overturned. Meanwhile, a special summer train - 04681 - going from Kolkata to Jammu left from Ambala to Ludhiana. When this train reached near the New Sirhind station, its speed was slow and it collided with the overturned engine of a fright train, official added.
The speed of the passenger train was slow so the driver stopped the train immediately and a major accident was averted. However, the train is partially damaged. Along with this, the track is in a bad condition. A
fter the accident, the passenger train was dispatched to Rajpura by installing a second engine. Along with this, the work of correcting the track has been started. The collision was so strong that even the carriages of the goods train collided with each other. Railway employees reached the spot after the accident.
Sirhind Government Railway Police (GRP) station in-charge Ratan Lal said the matter is being probed and the injured pilots were admitted to the Sri Fatehgarh Sahib Civil Hospital. They have been identified as Vikas Kumar and Himanshu Kumar, residents of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Vikas has head injuries while Himanshu sustained injuries to his back. The two were initially referred to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala but where later shifted to a civil hospital.
Railway officials said that they are also probing the matter and the rail traffic on Ambala to Ludhiana up line has stopped. Senior officials of Railways, GRP and RPF along with Divisional Railway Manager of Ambala division have reached the spot.
