Even as the state is yet to forget the tragic train mishap at Gotlam near Vizianagaram which claimed eight lives, a major train tragedy was averted near Guntakal railway station on Monday evening. The alleged negligence of the railway staff made a train proceed on a wrong track but luckily no train came on the track at that time.
Some passengers reportedly jumped out of the train, which was brought to a sudden halt, suspecting that the train got involved in an accident.
Amaravathi Express proceeding to Vijayawada from Hubli reached the Guntakal station at its scheduled time. After a halt of 15 minutes during which time the staff changed the engine, the train proceeded on its onward journey. But, due to the alleged negligence of the railway staff, the train was given a wrong signal and it proceeded on a line leading towards Gooty and Chennai instead of Guntur route.
After completing some journey, the train driver Srinivasulu noticed that the train is going on the wrong route. He immediately brought the train to a halt and informed the station officials and drove the train back to Guntakal station.
As the driver applied sudden brakes, the train came to a halt. Suspecting something fishy, some of the passengers reportedly jumped out of the bogies but no one suffered any injuries as the train was at a lesser speed.
Officials said a major tragedy was averted as no train came in from the opposite direction. Railway officials, said they would probe into how the train was given a signal to proceed on a wrong track.