Railway mishap averted on Delhi-Rohtak route

A major railway mishap was avoided on Saturday after a railway staff noticed a fallen tree on the railway tracks between Kharawar and Asthal Bohar railway stations on Delhi-Rohtak route.

The route is lined with eucalyptus trees on both sides of the tracks. 

On Saturday morning at around 7:30 am, a keyman on duty noticed an 80-feet-long tree fallen on the tracks. He was quick to act and warned the concerned railway authorities before a train could cross.

The railway staff in turn responded promptly and cleared the track and helped restore rail traffic by 9.15 am. Despite overhead electric wires being damaged too, the railway staff took less than one and a half hours to bring normalcy to the route. Commenting on the incident, the Northern Railway said around a year ago they had cautioned the Forest Department of Haryana government about the danger posed to the railway tracks from the trees lined on both sides of the tracks.

Haryana’s chief conservation forest officer granted permission to the divisional forest officer of Rohtak in July this year to remove the trees. The permission was given after a joint survey by the railway department, forest department and Haryana government officials.The Northern Railway has, however, alleged that if the Forest Department had taken timely action, such an incident could have been avoided.