Shimla, February 4
One person was crushed to death under the Shimla-Kalka Shiwalikview train, which got derailed inside the 103 tunnel in an attempt to save a passer-by.
The mishap took place at 6.10 pm near 103 tunnel after the train left the Shimla Railway Station. The fourth coach of the train got derailed as the driver applied brakes in an attempt to save a person crossing the track.
Chander Mohan (22), who was staying in adjoining building Victory Cottage, got crushed and died on the spot.
According to SP, R.M. Sharma, all 39 persons travelling in the fourth coach, which got derailed were safe and did not receive any injuries. The wheels of the adjoining bogey also came off the track due to the impact.
The train had left the Shimla Railway Station at 5.50 pm. After the mishap, the railway authorities took the engine to the Summer Hill, so that repairs could be undertaken and it could be finally taken to the workshop at Ambala. The Shiwalikview train reaches Kalka at about 11 pm.
It is perhaps for the first time in the last 104 years since the train has been running on this narrow gauge rail line set up by the British that such a mishap has occurred.
The Shimla-Kalka track having a length of 59.44 miles was made operational on November 9, 1903. Considered an extraordinary feat of engineering, the narrow gauge rail line has 22 stations en-route and 103 tunnels. The railway authorities and the state government had celebrated the centenary celebrations of the train in 2003 as a mega event.
