VIJAYAWADA: An assistant loco pilot of Visakhapatnam-Guntur Simhadri Express risked his life by crawling underneath the train coach on a railway bridge to reset the alarm chain, which was pulled by a passenger in the general coach. Loco pilot G Rajath Kumar’s efforts have prevented the trains from delaying and earned respect from his superiors.
According to the railway officials, the train, after a scheduled stop at Gollaprolu at 10:05 hours, resumed its journey on the Gollaprolu-Pithapuram section. Just five minutes later, an unauthorised individual pulled the alarm chain in the 5th general coach from the train engine, bringing the train to an abrupt halt.
After recognising the pressure drop and receiving details of the situation from a guard through a walkie-talkie, the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot decided to reset the alarm chain pulling device present underneath the coach.
As they got down, they recognised that the fifth general coach was stopped on a long bridge and there was no other way to approach the device to reset the alarm except going underneath the bogie stationed on the bridge.
Despite the potential danger, Rajat Kumar acted decisively and efficiently to resolve the situation. He crawled underneath the train bogie in the hot sun to reset the device. With commendable expertise, he identified the device and rectified the issue successfully, allowing the train to resume its journey without significant delay. In the act, he also suffered minor bruises.
Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager Narendra A Patil stated that the incident highlights the critical role of loco pilots in ensuring the safety and efficiency of railway operations. DRM highly commended Rajath Kumar and loco pilot NK Mohan.
He earnestly appealed to the passengers to not resort to pulling alarm chains except in emergencies. “Pulling of the alarm chain, without reasonable and sufficient cause is a punishable offence under Section 141 of Indian Railways Act, 1989. The penalty includes imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both,” he informed.