A diesel locomotive engine ran a few kilometres without a pilot from Wadi Junction in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district on Wednesday afternoon. Railway staff chased the engine on a motorcycle and stopped it, The Hindu reported. The Solapur division of the Central Railway said officials had been suspended for negligence.
The incident took place when workers were changing the engines of the Mumbai Mail, which arrived from Chennai. An electric engine brought the train to Wadi around 3 pm. As the electric line ends at this junction, railway staff were replacing it with a diesel engine. This is when the diesel locomotive began to move in the opposite direction without a pilot, the report said.
Authorities from Wadi station asked managers at the next few stations to clear signals and tracks, The News Minute reported. Wadi Station Manager JN Paaris and the loco pilot began chasing the engine on a bike. When they caught up with it, the pilot jumped into the engine and stopped it.
No injuries were reported, but authorities have yet to confirm what caused the engine to move on its own.
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