Sans fencing, animals block railway tracks

Jaswant Shetra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 25

The presence of stray animals around railway tracks in different areas of the city has been causing a lot of inconvenience to passengers.

The stray animals cross tracks all of a sudden and obstruct the movement of trains. Sometimes, the animals collide with the trains due to which they get delayed and the passengers have to bear the brunt.

In fact, many dairies and ‘gaushalas’ are located around railway tracks in the city. While grazing, the animals keep wandering around railway lines. Proper fencing has also not been done by the railway authorities around the tracks.

On Thursday night, a stray bull was crushed to death under a train near the Baddowal railway station on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur railway line. Three trains got delayed for several hours due to the accident.

Sources said the incident took place around 7.15 pm when the Chandigarh-Ferozepur express train reached near Baddowal. The driver stopped the train and the animal was removed from the track. The engine of the train developed a snag due to the collision.

After more than three hours, the train’s engine was replaced and it resumed its journey. The Satluj Express coming from Moga side and Ludhiana-Ferozepur passenger trains were also delayed due to the mishap. Several such incidents have taken place in the past, causing a lot of inconvenience to passengers.

Ludhiana railway station director Abhinav Singla was not available for a comment.