A major rail accident was averted on Tuesday when an alert key man spotted fractured railway track in Bihar’s Katihar district and alerted the loco pilot of the Dibrugarh-bound Rajdhani Express, minutes before the train was to pass the section.
The Express was supposed to pass through Chaidhabanni halt, where fracture in the track was located, between Mansi and Maheshkhunt stations on Barauni-Katihar rail section of Sonepur division of East Central Railway (ECR) zone.
East Central Railway (ECR) chief public relation officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar said key man Shivnandan spotted the fissure in the track between Mansi and Maheshkhunt stations and alerted the loco pilot immediately.
“The key man knew that the Dibrugarh-bound Rajdhani Express was about to reach the site. He put a red flag on the track. Shivnandan also placed a fog signal near the fractured track to caution the loco pilot about the impending danger ahead,” Kumar said.
The CRPO said the loco pilot of Rajdhani Express, Sanjiv Kumar, upon seeing the red flag, applied emergency brakes and stopped the train.
The train was halted for around 45 minutes at the site from 8am to 8.45am, Kumar said, adding the train proceeded after the fractured track was repaired by the railway personnel. Railways has ordered an inquiry into the track fracture.