Jodhpur, Oct 26 The Chennai-Bhagat Ki Kothi Super Fast Express and a tractor collided on the Luni-Samdari railway section in Rajasthan’s Balotra district on Monday, damaging the train’s locomotive and disrupting rail traffic on the route, officials said.
No casualties or injuries were reported, as the tractor driver escaped moments before the collision, they added.
An official of the North Western Railways said the accident occurred between Samdari and Ajit railway stations around 9 am, when a tractor engaged in railway construction work went out of control and came onto the tracks while the express train was approaching from Chennai towards Bhagat Ki Kothi in Jodhpur.
The train’s loco pilot applied emergency brakes after noticing the tractor, but could not stop in time, resulting in a collision. The impact shattered the tractor into several pieces and damaged the locomotive, with debris scattered around the engine and adjoining coaches.
According to railway sources, construction work, including track-related activities, is underway on the Luni-Samdari-Bhiladi section as part of ongoing railway infrastructure development. Heavy machinery, including tractors, excavators and cranes, has been deployed for the work.
The official said that concrete-related construction activities were underway near the tracks when the tractor reportedly went out of control and entered the railway line.
Following the collision, the train was halted on the spot, and railway officials, employees, Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and Government Railway Police (GRP) staff reached the site.
Railway workers, with the assistance of machinery deployed for construction, removed the tractor’s wreckage from the track and around the train.
Railway officials then replaced the faulty components of the damaged locomotive to enable the train to reach Samdari station. The locomotive was subsequently changed there before it resumed its journey.
The disruption delayed the train and affected the movement of other passenger and express services on the Luni-Samdari section. Some trains were halted at other stations, inconveniencing passengers.
The superfast express resumed its journey around 11 am, with the disruption causing a delay of nearly two hours, an official said.
(PTI News)
