Tragedy Averted As Speeding Rajdhani Decouples On Kathjodi Bridge

Cuttack: A major mishap was averted as two bogies of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express separated on the Kathjodi bridge here around 9.50am on Tuesday.

According to ECoR sources, the decoupling happened between B3 and B4 coaches.  They were rejoined and the train left for Cuttack railway station. Both the coaches were replaced with same type of coaches at the station. The train finally left the station at 2.40 PM following close to 4:40 minute of detention.

“Even though prima facia no deficiency could be noticed in the coaches, East Coast Railway decided to get the two separate coaches replaced to instil confidence in the passengers,” a statement issued by ECoRly said.

The train, that departed from Bhubaneswar railway station around 9.30 am, halted on the bridge, triggering panic among the passengers. Had the train derailed, the coaches could have toppled into the river.

“All coaches are on track and all passengers are safe,” an earlier statement had said, adding that a senior officer level inquiry panel has been formed by divisional railway manager (DRM) Brij Mohan Agarwal to probe the incident.

The panel has been asked to submit its report in 48 hours and strict action will be initiated if anyone was found responsible for slackness.

According to railway officials, in November 2011, Bhubaneswar Rajdhani was involved in a similar incident near Bokaro in Jharkhand when the engine had got separated from the coaches as the train was approaching the station. Some years back, coaches of the August Kranti Rajdhani Express had got detached while the train was on run between Nizamuddin station to Mumbai Central.

Recently on March 7, three bogies and the engine of the Panchvati Express got separated as the train was reaching Mumbai.