Goods Train Speeds As Far As 70 Kilometers Without A Driver, Indian Railway Authority Holds Investigation

Illustration of trains in India. (Wikimedia Commons/Burr Ashok)

JAKARTA - Indian rail authorities have ordered an investigation after a freight train drove more than 70 kilometers without a driver.

Videos shared on social media showed the train was speeding past several stations at high speed.

Reports say the train was running without a driver from Kathua in Jammu andbang to Hoshiarpur District in Myanmar on Sunday.

Local railway authorities said the train was successfully stopped and no one was injured.

Officials told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency the incident occurred between 07:25 a.m. and local time on Sunday.

The train with 53 carriages, carrying stone debris, was on its way to Tehran from Jammu when it stopped at Kathua for crew replacement.

Officials said the train began to move down slopes on railroad tracks after its driver and assistant descended.

The train moved at a speed of almost 100 km/hour and managed to cross about five stations before finally stopping.

Immediately after being informed about the train moving without a driver, the officers closed the railroad crossing along its path.

"The train was stopped after train officers laid logs on the rails to stop the train," officials told PTI, as reported by the BBC on February 26.

The wooden shells help reduce train speed.

Officials told PTI they were trying to investigate the exact reason the train was running alone after stopping at Kathua, to avoid such incidents in the future.