Drunk Driver's Auto On Tracks Halts Vande Bharat Train

Srinagar ~ In a moment that underscored how human recklessness can briefly outpace high-speed technology, a Vande Bharat Express was forced into an emergency halt late Tuesday after an unattended autorickshaw, allegedly driven by an intoxicated man, ended up squarely on the railway tracks, narrowly averting what could have been a major accident.

The train spotted the auto rickshaw on the railway track near Akathumuri Halt station in this district of Thiruvananthapuram.

Train No 20633, running from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, was approaching Akathumuri Halt in the Varkala–Kadakkavur section at around 10.10 pm on Tuesday when the loco pilot noticed the road vehicle infringing on the down line track.

Acting quickly, the pilot applied emergency brakes and brought the high-speed train to a halt.

Railway officials said the autorickshaw was found unattended, with no driver or passengers at the spot.

Personnel from the Railway Protection Force, the engineering department and the local police rushed to the scene and removed the vehicle from the track.

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