Sabotage attempts on tracks to derail trains continue to plague the Railways with detection of two more such cases today causing serious concern for safety of rail operation. Cases of man-made obstructions were discovered at Malda and Dhanbad divisions by alert railway staff in time, thereby averting major derailments, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Rail traffic was stopped for three hours and an FIR has been lodged in the matter. On January 23, another possible train accident was averted at Hajipur in Bihar due to an alert patrolling team of the Railways. Thirty-nine people were killed after nine coaches of the Hirakhand Express derailed near Kuneru station in Andhra Pradesh on January 21.

Source: dna January 26, 2017 15:43 UTC