TIRUCHY: High drama played out at the Tiruchy junction in the early hours of Wednesday after two locos jumped signal due to a snag and travelled unmanned for over 10 kilometres before coming to a halt. The shunting driver jumped out as the locos went out of control. Not only this, officials tried placing large stones on the track in a desperate attempt to stop the runaway locos.
According to sources, around 5.50 am, the station master declared loco number 40441 on the Erode Passenger stationed on platform A1 dead, and diesel loco number 16881 was brought from the shed to haul it away.
However, brakes of the the diesel loco reportedly failed and the two locos started moving. Frightened, the pilot jumped out and alerted officials.
The station master tried to stop the locos by placing stones on the track but could not succeed and the locos jumped the Last Stop Signal (LSS) and ran for 10 kilometers up to Muthuarasanallur on the Erode side. It was the steep gradient at that point which resulted in the locos slow down and stop.
The loco ultimately stopped after crossing the Road over Bridge after the Fort Railway Station from where it was brought back for inspection.
A senior railway official an alert was issued to all station en route as the Ernakulam-Karaikkal Express was scheduled to arrives from the opposite direction around 7.20 am.
Officials said the incident has been declared as “ Signal Passing at Danger”, which is an accident and an enquiry has been ordered under the charge of Divisional Railway Manager U K Reddy.
Missed by a whisker
Runaways are not uncommon. Here’s a list of three incidents that gripped public imagination
CSX 8888 incident
This one inspired the Hollywood flick Unstoppable starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. In real life, two persons actually chased down a runaway train from behind and managed to avert a major mishap in Ohion, the United States
crossing over to nepal
This time nearer home, an unmanned train engine covered 29 km from India to Nepal in 2012. The diesel locomotive operated by the Nepal railways began moving on its own after the driver alighted for a drought of water. The train was stopped in Nepal
canadian runaway kills 13
Airbrakes stopping the train failed and the unmanned loco began its journey downhill through a heavily populated region in Quebec. Of a sudden, the tankers filled with crude oil began exploding, flattening 40 houses and killing 13. Many were injured