Goods trains collide in Sirhind, 2 hurt

Nitish Sharma/Surinder Bhardwaj/Anirudh Gupta

Patiala / Sirhind , June 2

Two goods trains collided near New Sirhind Railway Station around 3.30 am today, leaving two loco pilots injured.

As many as 31 trains in Ferozepur and Ambala divisions had to be diverted or cancelled. While the Railways has ordered a probe, rail traffic is expected to be restored by late evening.

Two loco pilots, Vikas Kumar (37) and Himanshu Kumar (31), residents of Saharanpur, were injured in the mishap and were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Fatehgarh Sahib, from where they were referred to the Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.

The train traffic was affected after the bogies of goods trains, running between Sadhoogarh and Sirhind Railway Stations on the dedicated freight corridor track, overturned after the mishap, hitting train movement on the adjacent track, said officials. A railway official said since the goods trains were loaded with coal, it was taking time in the restoration of traffic.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala, Mandeep Singh Bhatia said a goods train carrying coal to the Ropar Thermal Plant was awaiting a signal to move on the dedicated freight corridor at Sirhind.

“Another goods train carrying coal rammed into the stationary train from behind. The engine of the train overturned and hit the holiday special summer train (04681) from Kolkata to Jammu Tawi, which was also standing on the outer signal,” he said.

The collision was so severe that the bogies of both trains rammed into one another and the engine of the passenger train was also damaged. The drivers of the goods train were taken out after breaking the windowpanes. Some passengers also got some minor injuries and were given first-aid.

The DRM said the Commission of Railway Security had marked an inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. Rescue and restoration operations were carried out by the Railways, Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force. Meanwhile, a team of the SGPC served langar to the labourers working at the site.

Help desk set up

Sanjay Sahu, DRM, Ferozepur Railway Division, said help desks had been set up in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar City, Jammu Tawi, Jalandhar Cantt, Katra, Firozepur Cantt and Pathankot Cantt stations for guiding passengers regarding the diversions, cancellations, short-origination and short-termination of trains.