Railway staff suspended for clearing two trains on same track

A station master and a point-man were on Friday suspended by the South Central Railway authorities on charges of gross negligence and irresponsibility after they allegedly gave clearance for two trains on the same track on Thursday night.

According to railway sources, station master Praveen Kumar and point-man Sai Kumar were suspended for giving clearance to the Hyderabad Wadi passenger and Yashwantpur Gorakhpur Express on the same track at Tandur in Rangareddy on Thursday night.

A major accident was averted when the drivers of the two trains acted swiftly and managed to apply the brakes in time. The two trains were stopped within metres of each other on the same track at Tandur.

The passenger train was bound for Wadi and the Yashwantpur-Gorakhpur Express was heading towards Gorakhpur and had to pass through Secunderabad, when the incident occurred, railways sources said.