Two wagons of LPG rake of a goods train derailed in Shahpura Bhitoni of Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, Railway officials said on June 7. The incident took place near the Bharat Petroleum depot which is used for stocking petrol, diesel and gas.
Soon after the incident took place the officials of the Western Central Railway arrived at the spot and supervised the restoration works.
The incident, which could have resulted in a tragedy, was successfully averted. The cause of the derailment remains unknown. Swift action and efficient measures were taken to prevent any potential leakage or further mishaps. Authorities are investigating the incident to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the derailment.
According to the West Central Railway CPRO, the derailment took place while the goods train was placed for unloading. “Two wagons of the LPG rake of a goods train derailed while being placed for unloading last night. No mainline movement of trains was affected. Train movement is normal in the main line. Restoration work started after sunrise in the presence of siding authorities. Fitness certificate issued by siding owner”, CPRO West Central Railway said.
The incident took place near the main gate of the deport as two wagons of the LPG rake derailed, soon after the incident an FIR was registered at the Bhitoni police station of the district.
Most recently, videos of people attempting sabotage to derail the coaches of the train also went viral. In one of the videos, a gas cylinder was kept near the tracks so as to hinder safe passage and in the other video, a boy was seen placing a piece of stone on the tracks as an obstruction.
A verified Twitter user sharing the gas cylinder video wrote, “Gas cylinder chucked on the tracks as the train approached and this happened near Haldwani. They’re trying hard to sabotage the railway system and the security, then they target the minister and demand a resignation. Opposition is trying hard to target individual ministers of different departments now to get at the Modi Government, least concerned about the lives of innocent people.”
In the other video, a boy was seen placing a piece of rock on the railway tracks, a verified Twitter user wrote, “Can anyone translate this video in English” to which a user replied, “This video is from the north Karnataka region. The boy says that he came to the tracks for the first time and it’s his friend “pappu” who had kept the stones on the tracks. The boy in the video is the son of the bus conductor. Authorities caught him and made him remove stones.”
It is pertinent to mention that, at least 275 lives were lost and over 1000 individuals were injured in a three-train collision in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2. The railways said that as far preliminary investigation the accident may have resulted on account of ‘signalling interference’.
The preliminary report on the tragedy said the three-way accident involved Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district.
As many as 17 coaches of these two passenger trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident on June 2.
