Social media videos captured the 53-wagon cargo train, transporting chip stones, as it sped past multiple stations from Kathua to an unknown location.
According to reports, India has initiated an investigation after a driverless goods train reportedly travelled at high speeds for over 43 miles (70 km) before coming to a halt.
A potentially catastrophic disaster was averted, and no one was injured when officials assisted in reducing the train’s speed by placing wooden blocks on the track in front of it, according to officials.
On Sunday morning, while en route to Punjab from Jammu in northwestern India, the 53-wagon train made a personnel change in Kathua.
NDTV reports that when the train’s operator and assistant exited the vehicle, the handbrake was not engaged, and the train careered away down the hilly track.
It was estimated to have attained nearly 62 mph (100 kph) as it passed through five stations before coming to a stop.
Social media videos captured the train, which was transporting cut stones, accelerating past multiple stations.
Local authorities informed the Press Trust of India (PTI): “A railway official placed wooden blocks on the tracks to stop the train.”
According to NDTV, the train stopped in the village of Uchi Bassi.
Driverless Train Incident Investigation Underway
“The incident did not result in any reported casualties,” NDTV reported, citing officials.
The incident occurred between 7:25 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. local time, according to the Press Trust of India, which cited an official source.
As a precautionary measure, railway crossings along its trajectory were closed when the alarm was activated.
PTI stated that officials are investigating the incident to ensure that it does not occur again.
“The precise cause of the incident has not been determined at this time,” NDTV reported, citing officials.
More than 280 people were killed in a train accident that occurred in June in the Balasore district of Odisha, close to the Bay of Bengal.
The deadliest rail disaster in India occurred in 1981 when a cyclone near the Nepal border caused seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train to derail and crash into a river. At least 800 people perished in the incident.
The Indian Railways, which operates as the state monopoly, manages the fourth-largest railway network globally. It serves 13 million passengers daily and facilitates the annual transportation of 1.5 billion tonnes of freight across over 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of track.
