Driverless Freight Train Travels Over 70 Kilometers From Jammu And Kashmir To Punjab — WATCH

In Hoshiarpur, Punjab, a freight train was stopped using wooden blocks on the railway tracks that began to move on its own, without the presence of the driver.

A freight train pulled by a diesel locomotive journeyed over 70 kilometers from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir to a village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district without its drivers on Sunday, officials confirmed, as reported by PTI. Fortunately, there were no casualties or property damage reported. An investigation has been launched into the incident, which occurred between 7:25 am and 9 am.

According to officials, the 53-wagon train, loaded with chip stones, was en route to Punjab from Jammu. A video of the incident was widely shared on social media.

A Northern Railways spokesperson stated, using preliminary information, that the train appeared to have started rolling down a sloping gradient track on the Jammu-Jalandhar line after stopping at the Kathua railway station in Jammu for a driver change.

According to the PTI, after the commencement of the train from Kathua, the driver went somewhere but forgot to put a hand break due to which the train began to move.

Train Stopped Placing Wood Blocks On Railway Tracks

Both the loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot were not aboard the freight train, officials confirmed. The train gradually picked up speed, finally halting on a steep slope near Unchi Bassi railway station in Punjab with the use of Wood blocks, they also said, as per PTI's report.

Divisional Traffic Manager, Jammu, Prateek Srivastava stated, "An inquiry has been initiated to know the exact cause of the incident. Prima facie, it seems that the train started rolling down the slope gradient towards Punjab without the driver and his assistant". The train came to a standstill near Unchi Bassi after covering a distance of over 70 kilometers, Srivastava added, according to the report.

The spokesperson stated that an extensive investigation is currently ongoing and that it is up for inspection whether the train had been "secured" correctly at Kathua on the downgrade.

Railway authorities and staff were placed on high alert along the route.

Sub-Inspector Ashok Kumar of the Government Railway Police in Jalandhar stated that upon receiving information about the runaway train, all rail-road crossings on the Jalandhar-Pathankot section were secured.