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Screengrab of runaway train in India
A screengrab of the runaway train, which was travelling at 62mph, from a video on social media.
A screengrab of the runaway train, which was travelling at 62mph, from a video on social media.

Indian runaway train travels 43 miles without a driver

This article is more than 5 months old

Inquiry ordered after 50-carriage freight train set off on its own when driver disembarked at station in Jammu

Indian Railways has ordered an investigation after a runaway freight train loaded with gravel travelled 43 miles (70km) without a driver.

About 50 carriages set off solo on Sunday, from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, before being brought to a halt by wooden blocks placed on the tracks.

“We have ordered an inquiry,” Deepak Kumar, a Northern Railways spokesperson, told Agence France-Presse, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.

The train, running at 62mph, was captured in a video that went viral on social media.

The incident happened after the train stopped at a station in Jammu for a crew change, local media reports said. It then began moving down a slope after the driver and his assistant disembarked.

All road crossings on the route were closed to prevent accidents.

The incident is the latest to hit India’s creaking rail network, which carries millions of passengers each day. Huge sums of money have been invested to upgrade the network with modern stations and electronic signalling systems.

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