Major train collision averted in West Bengal

KOLKATA - A major railway accident was averted in West Bengal Sunday when two trains moving in opposite directions came within 150-200 metres of each other on the same track after one of them overshot a signal, a railway official said.

The incident occurred around 3.20 p.m. near Sankrail station, some 20 km from here, in the Howrah-Kharagpur section when the Howrah-bound East Coast Express and a Panskura-bound local train came on the same track from the opposite direction, a spokesperson of the South Eastern Railway (SER) told IANS over phone.

The driver of the local train overshot the signal and after realising the mistake stopped the train immediately and pulled back, said the spokesperson.

The driver of the Pashkura local, R. Khan, has been suspended and the General Manager of SER Aditya Mishra has ordered an inquiry into the incident, said the spokesperson.

Mishra said: “The Panskura local was travelling on the middle line and the East Coast Express was also coming on the same track.”

“It is possible that the driver of the Panskura local missed the home signal which was red and hence there was hardly a distance of 150-200 metres between the two when they stopped,” he said.

“Senior officers from Kharagpur division have already reached the spot as well as officers from the city and an inquiry committee will submit a report within three days,” said Mishra.

He also added that the driver of the East Coast Express had informed them that he had gone ahead after seeing a green signal, but was travelling at a speed of 30 km per hour. He could stop the train in time because of his low speed, added Mishra.

Railway officials confirmed that there was no fault in the signalling system and said that trains are often allowed to travel on both directions with reversible signalling system through the middle line in the section, which has three lines.

SER’s Spokesperson Soumitra Muzumder said: “It is a perfectly legitimate practice and the only error was that of the motorman overshooting the home signal at Sankrail.”

Passengers of the local train alleged negligence by railway officials and agitated before the railway officials.

The irate passengers later went on the rampage at the station and ransacked the cabin manager’s room. A railway blockade was put up by them.

Normal train services were restored in the section after three hours, said the SER spokesperson.