Lucknow: Cows squat on railway tracks, accident averted

LUCKNOW: Alert loco pilots averted accidents at Charbagh railway station on Thursday when a dozen cows came on the tracks in front of two trains—Rajdhani Express and Kamakhya-Gandhidham Express.
The incident occurred around 5pm. Rajdhani Express was approaching the railway station slowly, when suddenly around 15 cows came in front of the train. The loco pilot applied emergency brakes and stopped the train just a few meters before the herd of cows.
After 30 minutes, as Kamakhya-Gandhidham Express departed from Charbagh railway station, the loco pilot had to stop the train for 10 minutes and wait for the cows to move out.
Railways employees said the cows come from nearby dairies on tracks daily to graze on grass and garbage near RRI building.
TOI also found dogs along with cows feeding on heaps of garbage. Animal carcasses were also found around the building.
Senior divisional commercial manager of Northern Railway in Lucknow Jagtosh Shukla said that a private company has been given a contract to clean the area.
The train runs at a speed of 5km per hour at the time of entry into and leaving the station, hence possibilities of accidents are less, he added.