Gondia (Maharashtra): Four wheels of an express train going from Chhattisgarh to Rajasthan got off the tracks in Gondia district of Maharashtra after it hit a goods train from behind in the wee hours of Wednesday, although nobody was seriously injured, an official said. The incident occurred around 1.20 am between Gudhma and Gondia railway stations, the official of South East Central Railway (SECR) said.
"Prima facie, the loco pilot of the express - Bhagat Ki Kothi SF Express (20843) - could not control the train, due to which it hit the brake van of a goods train that was standing ahead of it," a senior SECR official said.
"Due to the impact, four wheels of a coach of the express train got off the tracks. But no passenger was seriously injured in the incident. Only a few received minor injuries. One passenger suffering from anxiety was admitted to a hospital," he said.
After being alerted, a medical relief train and railway officials reached the accident site, he added. Restoration work was carried out immediately, after which the express train continued its further journey, the official said.
"I was travelling from Durg to Bhopal. There was suddenly a loud collision-like noise about 5 km ahead of Gondia. I fell down and sustained injuries in my chest area and my feet" a passenger said, while speaking to ETV Bharat. "There has been irresponsibility on part of those who provide signals for the trains to move. The goods train was ahead of us. Our train had a direct impact," another passenger said.
"The trains function through Automatic Block Signalling system. When two trains are travelling one after the other, there are two signals between them. The rules state that if the first signal if red, the driver has to wait for two minutes at night, and subsequently proceed cautiously until they see the next signal, or stop short of any obstructions.
In this situation, the driver did stop, and subsequently continued again. But before he could bring the train to a halt, he collided with the brake van of the goods train" DRM Maninder Singh Utpal noted.
