Sabotage bid? LPG cylinder found on rail tracks on Kanpur-Prayagraj route

The loco-pilot of a goods train applied emergency brakes after he spotted a gas cylinder on railway tracks near Uttar Pradesh’s Prempur station on Sunday morning. The train was going from Kanpur to Prayagraj. The railway police removed it from the tracks and are probing the matter.

“A goods train going from Kanpur towards Prayagraj was stopped using the emergency brakes after the driver spotted a gas cylinder lying on the tracks, at Prempur Station at 5:50 am today (September 22). Railway IOW (Inspector of work), security and other teams examined the cylinder and removed it from the tracks. Upon inspection, it was found that the 5-litre cylinder was empty. Directions have been given to investigate the matter,” said CPRO, North Central Railway.

Earlier this month, a major accident was averted after the Prayagraj-Bhiwani Kalindi Express collided with an LPG cylinder placed on the tracks.

“An attempt was made to derail the Kalindi Express by putting the LPG cylinder on the tracks. Soon after receiving information, senior officers rushed to the site and launched an investigation. The forensics team was called in and the Railway Protection Force is also probing the matter,” a senior police official had said.

“The loco pilot (driver) applied emergency brakes after spotting the object. The train struck the cylinder before coming to a halt but as a result of the collision, the cylinder moved away from the tracks,” he added.

A Molotov cocktail was also recovered.

On August 17, as many as 22 coaches of the Varanasi-Ahmedabad Sabarmati Express derailed, also near Kanpur, after the engine hit an ‘object,’ described by the loco pilot as a boulder.

Last week, a six-meter-long iron rod was found on the railway tracks between Bilaspur Road and Rudrapur city, the railways said in a statement, alleging that it could be sabotage. The loco pilot slammed the emergency brakes after spotting the rod and cleared the track.