Taxi, train engine crash at Dhakoli crossing

A car was damaged after crashing into a train engine near Dhakoli railway crossing in Zirakpur this evening.

The driver, Sunil, a resident of Vikasnagar, escaped unhurt. Locals said the engine collided with the car at the crossing in a SPAD (Signal Passed At Danger) case around 7.15 pm. However, railway officials are probing the sequence of events.

A safety team of railways and RPF personnel reached the spot and began the investigation.

The Haryana registration taxi car driver claimed that the gate was open and there was a red signal for engine. On the other hand, the loco pilot claimed that there was braking issue with the engine.

Notably, the Dhakoli railway crossing is one of the busiest spot in this section as hundred of vehicles wait for the gate to open at the level crossing.

Thousands of Zirakpur residents face inconvenience at the level crossing every day as they get stuck in traffic jams here. Residents of around 60 housing societies in the area use the road commuting to Zirakpur, Chandigarh and nearby towns.

In February this year, Zirakpur MC officials submitted the proposal of a overbridge instead of a proposed underpass here to the railway officials. Northern Railway had sanctioned a limited height subway at a cost of Rs 11.7-crore underbridge here earlier.