4-member Rly team begins probe into Champaner trains crash

Vadodara, Jan 6 (UNI) A four-member high-level enquiry committee of railway officials today began a probe into yesterday's two goods trains accident at Champaner station on Vadodara-Godhra section of the Western Railways.

According to officials sources here, the committee comprising of Chief Safety Officer Western Railway Brijesh Dixit, Chief Electric Locomotive Engineer Naresh Chandra, Chief Signal Engineer D Mehta and Chief Traffic Manager (Safety) visited the site of the accident and held discussions with Champaner station superintendent and others to ascertain the cause of the accident.

The accident occured in the wee hours yesterday when the Tughlakabad-bound Rajdhani special container goods train carrying imported goods from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust rammed into the stationary Gandhidham-Shalimar goods train from behind on a loop line at Champaner station, about 45 km from here.

Following the accident, trains services between Vadodara and Godhra stations on the main Mumbai-Delhi route was disrupted for nearly twenty hours as 10 wagons, one engine and one guard brake van that got derailed blocked both UP and DOWN lines besides causing damage to overhead equipments.

Railway sources claimed that there was no casualty. Zaheer Khan, the driver of the container goods train, injured in the accident, was admitted to the railway hospital here.

When queried, Vadodara Divisional Railway Manager Mr K L Pande said that since a probe had begun to ascertain the real cause of the accident, action would be taken against all those who will be found guilty by the enquiry committee. The committee is likely to submit it's report to the Railway Board within a week, he added.

UNI