Runaway Train-A Driverless Train traveled 13 Km until it was brought to halt?
Kalaburagi (FE): It was a bizarre incident! It happened in Kalaburagi-North Karnataka. An electric Railways engine, that too without a driver, managed to give its pilot a torrid time. A driverless electric engine, proved ‘unstoppable’ as it ran 13 km from Wadi station in Kalaburagi before it was brought to a halt. And who did it – its loco pilot.
This unusual incident occurred in the Mumbai Mail from Chennai after it arrived at the Wadi station at around 3 pm on Wednesday. The train swaps its electric engine at Wadi as the journey from Wadi to Solapur follows a non-electrified section of the track. After that, the engine was detached from the bogie’s and the train went on its way. At 3:30 pm, the electric engine that was standing on the platform started to move on its own. The stunned driver just looked on as the engine left the station.
Wadi station authorities immediately swung into action and the next few stations were informed to clear the signals and tracks and stop trains coming from the opposite direction (from Nalwar). Now, with engine cruising along, Wadi station manager JN Paris and the loco pilot set off on a bike. What followed was a ‘dramatic’ chase by the two. They both hunted down the engine after about 13 kilometres. When the duo caught up with the speeding engine the loco pilot managed to clamber on to it bravely and to finally stop it.
The station manager said that a major tragedy could have happened if the engine had crashed into a train coming from the opposite direction. Railway authorities were tight-lipped on how the engine had slipped away and if an inquiry had been ordered.
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