Tourist train engine detaches from 19 coaches in Patiya, Ctg

Boggies of the Tourist Express Train at Patiya, Chattogram. UNB

A major accident was averted at Potiya in Chattogram on Monday night when the engine of Dhaka-bound Tourist Express  train detached, leaving 19 compartments stranded at Komolmunshir Hat station.

The incident occurred around 9:30pm, leaving nearly 900 passengers trapped inside the stationary coaches for over an hour, railway officials said.

No casualties were reported.

According to railway sources, the train departed Cox’s Bazar as scheduled but the buffer hook and hose pipe of the engine broke upon reaching Komolmunshir Hat station.

The engine got separated from the coaches and continued its journey towards Chattogram.

The stranded coaches stood idle on the tracks until 11pm and a rescue engine was dispatched from Chattogram’s Pahartali station.

Patiya Station Master Mohammad Pavel said, “A support engine has been sent from Chattogram to safely take the passengers to their destination.”

Around 900 passengers endured hours of distress and panic during the disruption.

This was not the first such incident in recent weeks.

On July 26, a guard brake coach of Cox’s Bazar Express train became detached from the main train at Gomdondi station in Boalkhali upazila, halting the service for nearly 30 minutes before the train resumed its journey without the detached compartment. - UNB