Speeding goods train halts inches from slum, averts major tragedy in Rourkela

ROURKELA: A major tragedy was narrowly avoided in Rourkela when a speeding goods train broke through barriers and came to a halt just inches away from a slum household in the Malgodown area early on Wednesday morning.

Slum dwellers were left panicked and shocked as they spotted the train hurtling toward them. Had it not stopped on its own, with its wheels stuck in soil and debris, a disaster in the densely populated settlement seemed inevitable.

According to reports, the incident occurred between 6:00 and 6:15 am when the goods train was being placed at the warehouse in Malgodown. Eyewitnesses said the train broke through the track buffer, destroyed the protective boundary wall, and ploughed through the paved road on its western side before stopping dangerously close to a slum dwelling.

“As the goods train forced its way towards the slum, panicked residents ran for their lives, but nothing could stop the locomotive. Everything happened in a fraction of a second, and the train stopped on its own,” an eyewitness recounted.

The warehouse is several metres away from the Howrah-Mumbai main line and is connected to loop lines. Local railway authorities from Rourkela and Bondamunda, including the Area Manager, rushed to the spot to assess the situation.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager and spokesperson for the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER), Aditya Chaudhury, said the mishap occurred during rake placement in the warehouse for loading and unloading goods.

He confirmed, “The goods train broke through the buffer and the boundary wall and went about 50 metres beyond.” When asked how the train could have reached such high speed during rake placement, Chaudhury admitted human error, adding that an inquiry has been launched to determine the reasons and circumstances behind the incident for appropriate action.

The affected area has been cleared, and normalcy has been restored.