The loco pilot of the freight train which rolled down on its own for more than 70 km in Punjab on February 25 had refused to work without the guard, an investigation report has revealed.
A joint probe by a team of railway officials into the circumstances that led to the 53-wagon freight train running down a gradient from Kathua towards Pathankot in Northern Railways found that the Loco Pilot Sandeep Kumar was told to operate the freight train without the Guard (Train Manager) and Brake Van, railway sources said.
However, he along with the assistant loco pilot refused to start the loaded freight train without the guard. After the Kathua Station Master informed the Control Room at about 5.25 a.m. on February 25 about the situation, instructions were given directing the loco pilot to shut down the locomotives.
Accordingly, Mr. Sandeep Kumar shut down the two diesel locomotives and handed over the keys to the Station Master around 6 a.m. A few minutes later, he boarded the Pooja Superfast Express and went to Jammu Tawi.
During inquiry, the loco pilot gave a statement that he had kept two wooden wedges in both engines to prevent movement and applied hand brakes for only 3 wagons from engine end. No hand brakes were applied from rear end, the sources quoting the report said.
The probe concluded that the freight train rolled down towards Pathankot though the locomotives were switched off as proper stabling was not done by the crew and others. The inquiry officials held Mr. Sandeep Kumar and Assistant Loco Pilot Pradeep Kumar responsible for not stabling the rake properly and leaving the locomotives unmanned without written authorisation which was in violation of the rules.
While the Station Master Triveni Lal Gupta was also held responsible for not stabling the rake well, the Points Man Mohd. Sami was blamed for applying only wooden wedges and not using safety chains to secure the rake and not applying hand brakes from the rear end.
The runaway freight train which gained speed in the down gradient passed through a few stations triggering scare on tracks before slowing down. It was brought to a complete halt by railway employees who used wooden blocks and sand bags. Nobody was injured in the incident, the sources said.
