Mangala Express collides with jeep near Ramanagaram

Passengers of Mangala Express had a narrow escape on Saturday morning when the train hit a jeep, parked on the tracks for photoshoot, near Basavanapura in Ramanagaram district, about 45 km from Bengaluru.

The train, with over 700 passengers, was travelling at a speed of 50 km per hour, from Mysuru to Bengaluru, when the incident occurred at 7.25 a.m.

Four youth from Bengaluru allegedly entered the restricted area, just less than 2 km from the Ramanagaram railway station, for photoshoot of a vintage jeep, Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources said.

The youth parked the vehicle on the track. They did not remove the vehicle even after hearing the sirens of the train. The alerted drivers spotted the jeep and applied brakes. However, it halted after hitting the jeep, sources said. The youth fled the scene, Ramanagaram police said. While the jeep was damaged, the engine and track remain undamaged.

The train had to halt for nearly one hour as the technical staff and maintenance personnel of the railways had to issue green signal to move the train.