A major train accident was averted after loco pilots of a passenger train spotted a heap of sand dumped on the railway track in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district.

According to the police, the incident happened near Raghuraj Singh station in Raebareli on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday (October 6-7).

After receiving an alert from the loco pilots, the soil was removed from the track and rail traffic was resumed on the route.

Speaking about the incident, an official of the Raebareli Police said, "A small pile of soil was dumped on the railway track because of which a shuttle train from Raibareli was stopped."

The locals reported that road construction is underway in the area, involving the use of dumpers to transport soil at night. On Sunday evening, a dumper driver carrying sand dumped the load onto the railway track and fled, police official

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added.

Earlier in September this year, a major train accident was narrowly avoided early after an LPG cylinder was found on the rail tracks near Perambur Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district. The cylinder was spotted ahead of a goods train, prompting the loco pilot to apply the brakes just in time.

In another incident, On September 8, the Kalindi Express, travelling from Prayagraj to Bhiwani, struck an LPG cylinder placed on the tracks in Kanpur.

The train's locomotive pilot spotted the LPG cylinder and other suspicious items on the tracks, after which he applied the brakes. However, the train failed to stop in time and ended up hitting the cylinder before coming to a halt.

Source: India Today