Ranchi (Jharkhand): A major train accident was averted after a tractor crashed the railway gate in Jharkhand's Bokaro on Tuesday evening. According to railway officials, the incident occurred near the Santhaldih railway crossing, near the Bhojudih railway station, when the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express (train no. 22812) was passing from there.
Talking to the media, Manish Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Adra Division, South Eastern Railway, said that just when the railway gate at the Santhaldih railway crossing of the Bhojudih railway station was closing, a tractor crashed the railway gate and got stuck between the railway track and gate. "A major accident was averted as the driver of the train applied brakes timely and the train stopped," Kumar added.
Kumar said that this incident that occurred at around 5 pm on Tuesday resulted in delaying the train by 45 minutes. The tractor was removed from the track to facilitate the movement of trains. The vehicle was seized and a case was registered by the Government Railway Police against the absconding tractor driver. The Railways has suspended the gate keeper as well.
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This incident comes days after one of the deadliest train tragedies in the country in Odisha's Balasore district which claimed at least 278 lives leaving more than 1,100 people injured. The crash involved two passenger trains and a goods train.
The accident occurred when the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express collided with a stationary freight train at 7 pm on June 2, causing several coaches of the passenger train to derail. The derailed coaches fell on the adjacent track. The Howrah Express, travelling from Yesvantpur to Howrah, collided with the affected carriages at high speed, resulting in further derailment and pileup.
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