Railway officials said the mechanical coupling linking two sleeper coaches suddenly stretched and broke, causing the coaches to separate. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
A major tragedy was averted at Ludhiana railway station on Saturday morning when the coupling connecting two coaches of a Katra-bound express train snapped just before departure, triggering panic among passengers after a loud blast-like sound echoed across the station.
The incident occurred around 9 am at Platform No 2 when Train 04081 (New Delhi to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Special) was preparing to depart. Railway officials said the mechanical coupling linking two sleeper coaches suddenly stretched and broke, causing the coaches to separate.
The impact was so severe that a loud explosion-like sound was heard across all seven platforms of the station. Since the coupling is located near the toilet area of the coach, the force of the breakage also damaged the floor of a toilet in one of the sleeper coaches.
Eyewitnesses said passengers from the affected coaches rushed out without even collecting their luggage, while several others at the station also ran for safety. However, railway authorities later clarified that no explosion had taken place.
Railway officials inspect the damage to the Delhi-Shri Vaishno Devi Katra Special train compartment after it split at Ludhiana railway station. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
“The coupling between two coaches broke, creating a loud noise that caused panic among passengers. The floor of a toilet coach was damaged. Fortunately, no one was injured,” Palwinder Singh, Station House Officer, Government Railway Police (GRP), said.
He added that the train was delayed by nearly two-and-a-half hours and finally departed at around 11.30 am after railway technical staff rectified the fault.
“The railway technical team reached the spot within minutes. The damaged coach arrangement was attended to and the train was allowed to proceed after necessary repairs. A detailed inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the exact cause of the incident and identify any lapses, if any. All possible angles will be examined,” Singh added.
Punjab Police personnel also reached the railway station immediately after receiving information about the blast-like sound. However, after preliminary assessment, it was decided that the investigation would be handled by the railway authorities and the GRP.
