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Chennai train decides to ditch driver, travels 13 kms on its own

  • An electric railway engine ran for upto 13 kms from Wadi station in Kalaburgi without a driver or anybody on board!
  • The electric engine was standing at the Wadi platform in Kalaburgi and the loco pilot stepped out
  • Within moments, the engine was moving on its own as the aghast loco pilot looked on
Chennai train decides to ditch driver travels 13 kms

In a funny but extremely dangerous incident, an electric railway engine ran for upto 13 kms from Wadi station in Kalaburgi without a driver or anybody on board!

The incident occurred on Wednesday after the Mumbai Mail from Chennai arrived at Wadi with passenger bogies around 3 pm. The electric line ends at Wadi and a diesel engine is attached to the bogies for the journey from Wadi to Solapur.

The engine was detached from the bogies at platform No. 4 and the train went on its way. The electric engine was standing at the platform and the loco pilot stepped out around 3.30pm. Within moments, the engine was moving on its own as the aghast loco pilot looked on, reported the Times of India.

The station authorities alerted the next few stations to clear the tracks and stop trains coming from the opposite direction. The engine ran along at 30kmph and two manual railway gates.

The loco pilot hopped onto a bike with Wadi station master JN Paris and gave chase to the runaway engine. After riding behind the engine for about 20 minutes he caught up with the engine around a kilometre ahead of the next station, Nalwar.

The chase ended around 3.50pm as the engine slowed. The loco pilot clambered onto the engine and managed to stop it. Paris said the runaway engine could have caused a major accident had it run into a train coming from the opposite direction.

The officials, however, refused to comment on how the engine slipped away.

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