PATNA: A major derailment of a commuter train was averted in Bihar's Hajipur early on Thursday morning on the Hajipur-Bachhabara rail section of the Sonepur division under the East Central Railway.
Locals said they spotted some nuts and bolts missing from the railway track near Hilalapur village under the Branti PS in Vaishali district.
In the meantime, a commuter train from Barauni to Patliputra was approaching.
As soon as the villagers heard the whistle of the train, they ran in the direction the train was coming from and raised a piece of red cloth to alert the driver.
Seeing the villagers waving the red cloth, the driver applied the brakes and successfully halted the train some distance away from the crack in the track.
IG RPF at the ECR headquarters, Ravindra Verma, denied it was an act of miscreants, adding that rail fractures are common during winter.