Believe it or not, 22 coaches of the 18406 Ahmedabad-Puri Express (via Sambalpur) rolled on for 10 km without any engine in Odisha on Saturday, 7th April.
The headless train, with around 1,000 passengers, crossed a bridge over the Tel river and passed Kesinga station before slowing down at a level crossing. Later, railway staff placed stones on the tracks and finally stopped the runaway coaches.
Several videos went viral on Social Media Videos showing people on a platform at Kesinga screaming at the passengers to pull the chain. What’s even more unbelievable is that no one was hurt. That’s a relief!
Passengers on these coaches initially did not even realise that they were running without an engine, but panicked when they finally learnt about it.
On Sunday, Railways suspended seven employees following the incident. It is said to be caused due to non-application of skid-brake on the wheels by the staff. More information will be known only after a detailed inquiry.
