Derailment adds to train woes

LUDHIANA: A goods train was derailed at Phillaur railway station around 4.30pm on Sunday, affecting rail traffic in the region which has already been slowed down by poor visibility.
The goods train was loaded with heavy machines and heading to the unloading section of Amritsar railway station from Ludhiana when the mishap took place. No one was injured in the derailment.It took railway authorities four hours to put the train back on track, and this affected the schedule of seven long-route rains coming from New Delhi to Amritsar and Jammu, including Dadar-Amritsar Express and Howrah Express.
The change in the schedule of trains harried passengers. Gurpreet Kaur, a city woman who was waiting for the Shatabdi Express at the city station, said that she had been waiting for her train to leave Ludhiana for hour and a half. “I had to attend a marriage function,” she said.
A passenger waiting for Jammu Tawi, Arjun Gupta, said he had been waiting for his train for two hours. “The cold and dry weather is adding to my miseries,” he said. He added that the railways should introduce a technology to advoid derailments.
Ludhiana railway station superintendent Ashok Salaria said rail traffic was disrupted baldly for several hours. “Several trains did not get clearance from the traffic department because the train was being put back on track,” he said.
He added a safety committee would be formed to look into the exact reason behind the derailment.