Engine of Tourist Spl Train gets detached, runs for 1 km without coaches

Alipurduar: The vulnerability of the Railways again came to the fore with the engine of the 15777 UP NJP-APDJ Tourist Special Train, detached from its coaches.

This is the train connecting New Jalpaiguri to Alipurduar Junction and is a hot favourite of the tourists owing to the vista dome coaches.

The incident occurred between Siliguri Junction and Gulma Station on Friday. Six bogies of the special train got disconnected from the engine.

After departing from Siliguri Junction and heading towards Gulma at 8:50 am, the train travelled about a kilometre before getting detached from the bogies near pillar 14/6 of BG-3 track in the Alipurduar division. This triggered panic among the passengers.

Railway officials promptly rushed to the scene and reattached the bogies to the train en-route to Alipurduar. No injuries were reported.

Passengers recounted that as the train left Siliguri Junction and was about to pass Gulma Station, it suddenly came to a halt in the forest, arousing curiosity among the tourists on board.

The stop was so smooth that passengers barely felt a jolt. Upon disembarking they realised that the engine had got detached and travelled about a kilometre away from the coaches.

Rajarshi Sarkar from Cooch Behar, a student of North Bengal University who was in the second coach from the engine, stated: “Seeing the engine in the distance made my heart race. The Railways need to prioritise passenger safety more effectively.”

Towards the rear of the train, Biswajit Modak, a doctor from Burdwan travelling to Dooars with his family in the Vistadome coach, expressed his concerns: “I took time off from my schedule at North Bengal Medical College to travel in the Vistadome coach and enjoy a trip to Dooars. However, the current situation has me anxious about the return journey. While the Railways charge passengers, they must not neglect safety; such negligence is unacceptable.”

The tourist special train underwent repairs within half an hour and arrived at Alipurduar Junction Station around noon, an hour behind schedule.

When questioned about the incident, DRM Amar Jit Gautam stated: “The incident resulted from a mechanical fault. An inquiry has been initiated to investigate the matter.”