Alert Trackman Averts Possible Train Mishap

An alert and vigilant trackman of the South Central Railway averted a possible mishap.

According to the SCR, Y Chandru Naidu, (Trackman, Permanent Way, Tenali, while on night-patrolling duty, of the track, noticed a flash butt weld failure with a gap of 8mm, which led to a level difference of 60mm between the separated rails.

This was noticed by him at around 3:20am on December 15. The location was between Tsunduru and Tenali stations, on the Chennai-Vijayawada route.

He immediately alerted the Divisional control office at Vijayawada, and relayed the information about the weld failure to senior officials. In the mean time, Train No. 12621, the Chennai - New Delhi Tamilnadu Express, had already left Tsunduru station towards Tenali. The train was stopped short of the spot in time, by the night patrolman, with a red lamp signal.

M Sambasiva Rao, senior supervisor (Permanent Way, Tenali), rushed to the spot with additional staff by about 4:05am. The staff physically lifted the track, brought both the rails to an even level, and fish-plated and clamped them.

After ensuring safety, they then allowed the train to pass at 4:40am, with a restricted speed of 20kmph.

In appreciation of their safety consciousness, and alertness in the course of their duty, SCR General Manager P K Srivastava awarded them with a cash award at Rail Nilayam on Wednesday. (INN)