Surat: A train derailment was averted on Saturday after vandals removed fishplates and keys from a railway track near Kim Railway Station in Surat.

“Some unknown person opened the fish plate and some keys from the UP line track and put them on the same track near Kim railway station after which the train movement was stopped. Soon the train service started on the line,” said, Western Railway’s Vadodara Division.

As per the information, the track fishplate near Kim station in the Vadodara Division of Western Railway, on the UP line between km posts 292/27 and 291/27, was tampered with by unidentified persons. Additionally, 71 iron padlocks were removed, which could have led to a major disaster. However, the Deputy Station Superintendent promptly alerted keyman Subhash Kumar, who investigated and confirmed the sabotage attempt.

Railway keyman Subhash Kumar stopped the 12910 Delhi (Hazrat Nizamuddin)–Bandra Terminus Garib Rath train, which was approaching at the time, averting a major disaster. He warned station staff at 5:27 a.m., and repair work on the track began promptly, with train operations resuming shortly after.

The railway department has now enlisted the help of sniffer dogs to track down the culprits. DeshGujarat