Rajdhani Express jumps signal; mishap averted

A major disaster was averted when Rajadhani Exepress  proceeding from Delhi to Bangalore jumped the signal near Adoni railway station in kurnool district  in the early hours of Friday. The train was stopped immediately avoiding a possible collision with Durnoto Exepress coming in the opposite direction on the same track. This comes after the recent accident involving Tamil Nadu Express in Nellore in which 30 passengers had lost their lives.

Both the super fast trains were carrying around 1,200 to 1,500 passengers each. According to the South Central Railway (SCR) officials, the Rajdhani Express driver overshot the danger signal at Adoni and sped past almost a kilometer. Its loco pilot Srinivasulu, however, realised his folly and stopped the train around 2.30 am. Duronto Express which was coming from Isivi station was to take the same track. The authorities, however, averted a possible collision by allowing the Duronto Express on the main line after bringing back the Rajdhani Express to the Adoni station. The Duronto was heading to Delhi from Bangalore.

“Though the distance between the two superfast trains was around 7 km, it could have led to a major crash had they travelled on the same track,” a senior official said. The Rajdhani Express was moved back immediately to the extent it had overshot the signal, thus allowing Duronto to chug ahead, sources said.

The Rajdhani Express was stopped for two hours after the driver claimed that the automatic braking system had failed and repairs carried out. Another pilot took over, while Srinivasulu was suspended.