Derailment averted in Bihar as stone slab removed from tracks
NEW DELHI: Even as the Railways is investigating sabotage in recent incidents of derailment, a
tragedy was averted in Bihar after a huge concrete slab was found on the rails by patrolling staff early on Monday.
Two patrolmen found two stone slabs around one meter kept on the track between Samastipur and Barauni in Bihar.
“When they tried to remove it, 3-4 persons who were hiding came out and started abusing the patrolmen. The patrolmen fled away and informed the RPF, GRP and local police. The engineering staff along with RPF, GRP and local police personnel reached the site and removed it,” said Arvind Kumar Rajak, Chief Public Relations Officer, East Central Railways.
Railways said that this resulted in the detention of train no 13420 Muzaffarupur-Bhagalpur Intercity.
There have been three derailments since November. The Indore-Patna express derailed near Pukhrayan station in Kanpur-Jhanshi section killing 150 people while Sealdeah-Ajmer express derailed near Rura station in Kanpur Dehat. Thirty-nine people were killed on Sunday after Hirakhand express derailed in Andhra Pradesh.
“To avoid such incidences, the Indian Railways has launched an extensive safety drive. The whole track on Indian Railway has been thoroughly inspected and shortcomings have been noted. These shortcomings are being removed in a programmed manner. As sabotage is also a factor which cannot be neglected, the
intensive and extensive monitoring of track is also being done,” said Kumar. He further said that night patrolling, footplate inspection, counseling of the staffs, holding safety seminars and all other means of safety vigilance have been activated by the Railway.