Early morning on Saturday, August 17, the engine of the Sabarmati Express train derailed near Kanpur at 2.35 AM. Thankfully, no passenger or Railway staff was hurt in the incident. Now, the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has shared that the derailment of the engine took place because of an object placed on the track.
Notably, twenty coaches of the Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur after the engine hit an object placed on the track.
Taking to X, the Railways Minister said, “The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02:35 am today.”
The engine of Sabarmati Express (Varanasi to Amdavad) hit an object placed on the track and derailed near Kanpur at 02:35 am today.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 17, 2024
Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it.
No injuries to passengers or staff. Train arranged…
Minister Vaishnaw further added, “Sharp hit marks are observed. Evidence is protected. IB and UP police are also working on it.” He further added that there were no injuries to passengers and the staff and train was arranged for their onward journey to Amdavad.
Railway Board officials said involvement of miscreants is being looked into as it appears that the engine hit an object placed on track.
Reportedly, A Railway official said, “We found a foreign material near the 16th coach of the train. Looking at the size of the damaged portion of cattle guard of the engine, it seems that the engine hit this foreign object and derailed.”
YouTuber placing objects on Railway tracks
Notably, this won’t be the first incident of someone deliberately placing objects on Railway tracks. There are many YouTube channels operating where the “creator” puts random things on Railway tracks and then record the videos for likes and shares.
Earlier in August, a YouTuber named Gulzar Sheikh was arrested for putting different items on railway tracks including cycles, soaps, stones and more in the name of content creation.
OpIndia investigated the matter and found that many YouTube channels have been uploading such videos for likes and shares. In most probability, these channels are earning hefty money by monetizing these videos where they attempt to derail trains by placing objects on the tracks.
