No kidding: Train runs without driver for 13 km, rail staff chases it on bike

Mumbai: An electric train engine travelled for about 13 kms without loco pilot from Wadi station in the district before being brought to a halt by a staff member who chased it on a bike.

The staffer successfully caught up with the engine in a filmy style, and got on to it and stopped it.

The incident occurred when the Chennai-Mumbai train arrived at Wadi junction around 3 pm on Wednesday and halted for the diesel engine to be attached to the bogies as the route from Wadi to Solapur in Maharashtra is not electrified, railway officials said.

As a daily routine, the diesel engine was attached to the Mumbai train which left for Solapur on its onward journey from Wadi, the officials said. But in the meantime, due to a slip up, the electric engine started moving on its own after the loco pilot alighted from it.

As a stunned loco pilot looked on, the Wadi station authorities alerted the next few stations to clear the signals and tracks.

To prevent any possible mishap, trains coming from the opposite direction were also stopped, the officials said. As the electric engine ran, the railway staff gave a chase to it on a motorbike, managed to board it when it slowed down and stopped it near Nalwar but not before it had cruised for about 13 kms.

It was not exactly known how the electric engine began to move, the officials said, adding, an inquiry by a special team was underway.