Rajdhani engine detaches from coaches

GUWAHATI: The passengers travelling from Dibrugarh to New Delhi by the Rajdhani Express had little idea how blessed they were when they boarded the train on Friday morning.
A major mishap could've occurred but did not when the engine detached from more than 10 wagons of the train as it was exiting Sarbhog railway station on Friday. Northeast Frontier Railway sources said the engine went on for more than about 400 metre after getting separated from the compartments, but luckily no mishap took place.
"The engine got separated from the compartments around eight in the morning at Sarbhog railway station and went nearly 400 metre ahead of the spot where the bogies had halted," said S Hajong, the chief public relations officer of the NF Railway.
However, no casualty was reported. "The detachment of the engine from the bogies did not cause any casualty. We found the separated bogies had halted at Sarbhog railway station," said Robin Das, officer in-charge of Sarbhog police station.
The police officer said after half an hour of departing, the engine was brought back to the railway station and attached to the compartments. NF Railway officials said after the engine driver realized the compartments had got detached; he brought back the engine to the railway station and enlisted the help of technical personnel to connect the bogies back to engine.
Needless to say, the incident delayed the train and it will reach the destination station one hour late. "The detachment of the bogies and the halt caused an hour's delay in the timing of the superfast train," said Hajong.
The NF railway officials said a mechanical snag was the reason behind the incident. Locals from Sarbhog said the passengers did not realize the engine had got disconnected from the bogies and moved on, although they felt the train had halted near Sarbhog railway station. They were not aware of what exactly had happened.
All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said the railway authorities must take the matter seriously and find out the loopholes that led to the detachment of the bogies.
"Fortunately no passenger was injured. We demand a proper investigation into the accident and the railway authorities must take strict action against the people responsible," said Bhattachaya.
Bhattacharya alleged the railway ministry has been neglecting the northeast and allotting the older compartments here, even in the superfast Rajdhani Express.