Erratic driver raises safety fears

KOLKATA/SURI: The errant behaviour of Vananchal Express driver at Suri station on Sunday evening which could have caused a major train accident has underscored one fact: There is no fool-proof system at the disposal of the railway to check drunken driving.
The 3404 Down Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express had crossed Suri station at top speed, the driver ignoring the signal to stop at the scheduled stoppage.
Had the Up Mayurakshi Fast Passenger travelling in the opposite direction not been running 45 minutes late and stopped at the Chinpai station, the Vananchal Express would have crashed into it, as it was a single line section.
However, ER officials stressed that the signalling system along the section has some checks to prevent a collision.
According to Suri station manager A.K.Mondal, at around 21.17 p.m. the Ranchi bound train slowed as it approached Suri, but suddenly the train took speed and crossed the platform. Panicky passengers started shouting. Finally, the train stopped a few kilometres away. Angry passengers rushed to the driver''s cabin.
After a few hours, a new driver was summoned and the train brought back to Suri. Mondal said Vananchal Express driver A.K. Singh was found intoxicated and handed over to the government railway police.
The driver is now admitted in Suri hospital under GRP custody. Vananchal passenger Rafiqul Ahmed of Pakur, who lodged complaint against the driver said, "The train slowed near Suri station and suddenly the speed increased.We became frightened and suddenly it stopped with a jerk."
Police investigations revealed that the Vananchal Express had ignored the signals at Suri station. SRP Howrah Sunil Mullick told TNN that the train ignored the signals at Suri station and went upto Adarpur level crossing gate.
"After preliminary investigations we have found that the gateman continuously flashed emergency halt signals at the driver of the Vananchal Express and when it stopped, he informed that the driver to return to Suri station, which was its scheduled stoppage," Mullick said.
How the train was stopped is still a mystery. The passengers of the Vananchal Express claimed that they pulled the chain. But railway officers claimed that the train was stopped from Suri station by using the advance starter signal.
A senior ER official, however, told a different story. "According to Suri station officials, Vananchal Express stopped in the middle of the platform and after around a minute it left towards Andal. There were passengers standing at one end of the platform who could not board the train and started agitating. As a result, the train was stopped and again brought back to the station," he said.