RailEnquiry

Jammu:
A major tragedy was averted today on the strategic Jammu-Udhampur rail line after the driver of the Malwa Express stopped the train metres away from the landslide which had destroyed the track.Reports said due to heavy rain for the last 48 hours in the region, there was a major landslide near Tunnel-16 between Manwal and Ramnagar. As the train was approaching the tunnel, the driver saw debris on the track and applied emergency breaks, saving the lives of hundreds of passengers.No one was injured in the incident. However, traffic remained suspended on the track, linking the Northern Command of the Army, based in Udhampur, with the rail link in the rest of the country.A senior Railway official said the incident occurred between 7 and 7:30 am today when the train was moving towards Jammu from Udhampur.“All the passengers were safely evacuated from the train, but the engine is still inside the tunnel, as it got derailed,” said an official.This is the second such incident this week. On August 2, the Hemkunt Express got derailed at Samba. Officials blamed it on heavy rainfall, which had loosened the earth near the track.The line is an important link for the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project to connect the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. The construction of the line was the biggest project undertaken by the Indian Railways in the mountainous terrain which runs through the Pir Panjal Range and the Himalayas.

None of the senior Northern Railway officials was available for comment.