Punjab: Movable rails found obstructed on Jalandhar-Jammu route
A pointsman found that the movable rails had been obstructed with stones, and a roughly three-inch-long piece of iron had been deliberately placed on the track, preventing the switch from operating correctly
In a suspected case of sabotage, railway staff at Tanda Urmar railway station found movable rails obstructed with stones and a three-inch-long piece of iron just as the Jammu-bound Hemkunt Express was approaching, prompting them to halt the train in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.
According to station house officer (SHO), Government Railway Police (GRP), Jalandhar, inspector Ashok Kumar, the train en route from Haridwar to Jammu was stopped around 1.30 am on the outskirts of the station near Chandigarh colony on the Jalandhar-Jammu route after the railway staff noticed that the track points had not changed — a situation involving the split switch turnout system, where a pair of movable rails (called “tongues”) guide trains from one track to another.
The station master at Tanda Urmur immediately dispatched a pointsman to inspect the issue. The pointsman found that the movable rails had been obstructed with stones, and a roughly three-inch-long piece of iron had been deliberately placed on the track, preventing the switch from operating correctly.
The pointsman cleared the obstruction in about 10 minutes, allowing the Hemkunt Express to resume with only a 15-minute delay.
Officials suspect foul play and termed the act a deliberate attempt to cause disruption.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has initiated proceedings under the Railway Act. Both RPF and GRP have launched a joint investigation to ascertain the motive and identify the miscreants.
“Action will be taken based on the outcome of the probe,” said inspector Kumar.
