Traffic on Delhi-Howrah rail route hit as tipsy on-duty ASM falls asleep

KANPUR: Train services were disrupted on the Delhi-Howrah route under the North Central Railway division for about one-and-a-half hours on Wednesday night after the assistant station master allegedly got drunk and fell asleep while on duty.
As a result, important trains like Vaishali Express, Sangam Express, Farakka and Magadh Express besides several other goods trains were stranded at various stations.ASM of Kanchausi station, Aniruddh Kumar, did not respond to repeated calls from his seniors, forcing them to rush to the railway station, which comes under the NCR division in Auraiya district.
According to Vishambhar Dayal, station master Auraiya, his junior at Kanchausi was found sleeping in his office allegedly after consuming liquor. A chargesheet has been prepared and the ASM has been suspended, he said, adding that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
NCR authorities said the ASM has been sent to a railway hospital in Tundla for a medical examination. “The Assistant station master has been sent to Tundla for a medical examination to ascertain whether he was drunk. However, primarily, he was found to be sleeping,” a senior railway official said.
Due to this, the Delhi-Howrah rail route was hit from 12.10am to 1.30am. “The route was restored only after 2am,” Dayal said.