A runaway cargo train sped 50 miles without a driver in India.

Footage shows the unmanned freight train with 53 freight carriages whizzing through a railroad station at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour on February 25.

The driver had allegedly stopped for tea and left the engine running while waiting for a new driver to arrive for their shift.

However, the vehicle rolled down a sloped part of the track on the Jammu to Jalandhar section shortly after 7.25 am.

A Northern Railway spokesperson said the train was loaded with chipstones and stopped at the Unchi Bassi station using emergency brakes around 9 am.

To prevent any potential accidents, all railroad crossings on the Jalandhar to Pathankot line were immediately closed.

Railway police ASI Gurdev Singh said mechanical methods were used to slow down the train, and representatives from the Ferozepur railway division were en route to assess the situation.

Divisional Traffic Manager Prateek Srivastava said the cargo train was travelling from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir to a village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district

He said: 'An investigation has been launched to determine the precise reason behind the event.

'It appears that the train began rolling down the slope gradient towards Punjab without the driver and his assistant.'