Title: Runaway Freight Train in Northern India Travels Nearly 45 Miles Without a Driver, Reaching Speeds of Up to 46 Miles Per Hour Before Being Stopped
A runaway freight train in northern India traveled approximately 72.4 kilometers (45 miles) without a driver on Sunday, reaching speeds of up to 76.9 kilometers per hour (46 miles per hour), before it was successfully brought to a halt, as per railway officials’ reports.
The train’s unexpected journey unfolded near a station platform and was captured in a viral Website video integration shared on Website social media integration platforms. Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of the runaway train incident.
The train had been moving for approximately one and a half hours before coming to a stop in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab state. Prateek Srivastava, the director for the Ministry of Railways in Jammu and Kashmir, shared details about the incident with CNN on Monday. According to Srivastava, the locomotive pilot and assistant pilot had left the train for unknown reasons, leading to the unattended vehicle’s movement.
Srivastava further revealed that the train was eventually diverted onto a path with an uphill gradient. This strategic decision helped halt the runaway freight train using gravity as an assisting force.
Following the incident, at least four individuals have been suspended and a thorough inquiry is currently being conducted at Kathua Railway Station.
Incidentally, this is not the first occurrence of a runaway train in India. In April 2018, another train carrying an estimated thousand passengers rolled for several miles before being brought to an emergency stop. This incident took place between the western state of Gujarat and Odisha state in the east. The train, which was moving at high speeds past several stations, was eventually halted using wooden wedges placed on the tracks.
Fortunately, none of the passengers were injured during this incident, and the train reached its final destination two hours behind schedule.
India’s vast rail network, which is one of the largest in the world, was established more than 160 years ago during British colonial rule. Today, it operates approximately 11,000 trains daily over 108,700 kilometers (67,539 miles) of tracks, serving the needs of the world’s most populous nation.
India has suffered numerous rail disasters throughout its history, one of the deadliest being in June last year when two passenger trains and a freight train collided in Odisha state, resulting in at least 275 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries.
