‘Be a responsible citizen…’: Indian Railways advises against frequent attempts to derail trains

The Railway Ministry on Tuesday issued a warning on social media platform X following repeated derailment attempts across the country, saying that placing any object on tracks is a criminal offence and urging the public to cooperate with the railways to ensure safe operations.

“Putting any kind of object on the tracks or tampering with them is a criminal offense. This can prove fatal to the safety of passengers. Be a responsible citizen and contribute to safe rail operations,” the ministry said in a post on X.

The warning came after several incidents came to light in which objects were found on tracks in an attempt to derail trains.

Over 15 derailment attempts reported in the last 2 months

From placing objects on railway tracks to pelting stones at premium trains like the Vande Bharat, a series of incidents have been witnessed in many regions of the country over the past one and a half years, according to the Railway Ministry.

Four incidents were reported in the first ten days of September. A total of 15 such attempts were reported in August.

Read more: Foreign objects on railway tracks: Security authorities suspect sabotage in 2 dozen attempts since May 2023

The latest incident was a cylinder found on the tracks near Kanpur railway station on Sunday. The case is currently being investigated by the Uttar Pradesh police and the state's intelligence agencies.

Cylinder found on track in Kanpur (8 September): The Kalindi Express, travelling from Prayagraj to Bhiwani in Haryana, hit a gas cylinder lying on the tracks in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. Police said a petrol bottle and matchboxes were also found at the accident site, suggesting an attempt at sabotage. However, an accident was averted. The incident took place around 8 pm. According to reports, the force of the impact threw the cylinder nearly 50 metres. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Harish Chandra said the train driver saw the LPG cylinder lying on the tracks and applied emergency brakes. The train remained at the accident site for about 20 minutes and was again stopped at Bilhaur station for checking, the ACP said.

Cement block found on railway track in Ajmer (8 September): An attempt was made to derail a loaded freight train in Rajasthan's Ajmer district by placing two concrete blocks on the tracks of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, railway officials said on Tuesday. The freight train hit the blocks between Saradhna and Bangad stations on Sunday evening, but nothing untoward happened, they said. “Some miscreants placed two concrete blocks on the tracks of the dedicated freight corridor on Sunday. A freight train hit them,” a North Western Railway official said, adding that the incident took place on the Phulera-Ahmedabad section of the corridor.

Earlier, there had been an attempt to derail the Ahmedabad-Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express in Pali district of Rajasthan.

Wood-like object found on track in Solapur (5 September): On September 4, a wooden-like object was found on the tracks near Kurduvadi railway station in Solapur, Maharashtra. However, no accident took place. The sabotage attempt was foiled after the train driver discovered the blockage and stopped the train. GRP has registered a case (case number 98/2024) under sections 125, 126(2) BNS and 147, 150(1)(a) of the Railway Act against an unknown person in Kurduwadi. RPF, GRP and CIB/SUR are coordinating and making joint efforts to arrest the accused.

Read more: Foreign object in stone throwing: Tracking Indian Railways' woes over the last 15 months | Complete list of incidents

In one of the biggest incidents in August, 20 coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur after the locomotive hit an “object lying on the tracks”. All passengers were rescued safely and no one was injured.

Security authorities suspect sabotage

Security authorities suspect that the two dozen incidents in which objects were found on tracks since May 2023 could be part of sabotage attempts on the Indian Railways.

The Indian Railways is the statutory arm of the Ministry of Railways and one of the most widely used modes of transport. Established in 1951, India has the fourth largest railway network in the world in terms of the number of kilometres of track laid and the distance travelled.