A major disaster was narrowly averted when an empty LPG cylinder was found on a railway track near Roorkee in Uttarakhand early on Sunday. The cylinder was discovered by the freight train’s locomotive operator, who immediately alerted authorities and prevented a potential derailment.
Himanshu Upadhyay, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of Northern Railway, said the incident took place at 6.35 am between Landaura and Dhandhera stations, about one kilometer from Dhandhera. An inspector was dispatched to the scene and confirmed the cylinder was empty. Thereafter, it was placed in the custody of the Dhandhera Station Master.
The local police and the Government Railway Police (GRP) have been informed and an FIR is being lodged.
The incident is one of many in a series of recent train derailments across India. Indian Railways revealed that there have been 18 such attempts across the country since August, with three more reported in the following weeks. In the latest case, another LPG cylinder was found on the railway tracks in Kanpur.
Since June 2023, there have been 24 incidents involving various objects such as LPG cylinders, bicycles, iron rods and cement blocks being placed on the tracks in an apparent attempt to derail trains. Of these, 15 accidents occurred in August and five more in September, highlighting growing concerns about railway safety.