Fish plates removed, bolts loosened on railway track in Surat; sabotage attempt foiled by alert lineman

Surat: Yet another attempt to derail a passenger train, unidentified persons allegedly tampered with a railway track by removing fish plates and loosening several bolts in Gujarat's Surat district on Saturday.

Unidentified persons removed two fish plates that bolted the ends of two rails on the railway track and placed them on the parallel track, the railway official said here.

The sabotage attempt came to light before a train could pass through the affected track between Kosamba and Kim railway stations as a lineman detected the damage and alerted the railway authorities in the early hours of the day, the official said.

A lineman inspecting the track discovered the tampering around 5.30 am and alerted the railway administration. The railway officials also loosened some 40-50 bolts, said the official.

"Railway engineers and other staff reached the site and repaired the line, and the movement of trains resumed," he said. The police have registered the case and are probing the incident.

For the past one month, nearly 20 cases have been reported in which obstructions in the form of gas cylinders, boulders or broken rails have been placed on the railway tracks with an intent to cause damage to train operations.

Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government was aware of these incidents and multiple agencies probing these cases.