Senior citizen falls on railway tracks, saved by loco pilots

A senior citizen who was trespassing at Kalyan railway station was saved in the nick of time by alert loco pilot SK Pradhan and assistant loco pilot Ravi Shankar of Mumbai-Varanasi special train on Sunday

A senior citizen who was trespassing at Kalyan railway station was saved in the nick of time by alert loco pilot SK Pradhan and assistant loco pilot Ravi Shankar of Mumbai-Varanasi special train on Sunday.

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Hari Shankar Prasad, 65, fell on the track and was stuck below the cattle guard of the engine. Pradhan and Shankar applied emergency brakes and saved his life.

The incident took place at 12.53pm, when the train was heading towards Varanasi from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). As per Central Railway (CR), the on-duty chief permanent way inspector (CPWI) alerted the loco pilot.

“While on duty, I was looking after the preparation for rail replacement work at the platform no 5 on the Karjat-end of Kalyan railway station. The train was on platform no 4 and the senior citizen was at platform no 3 and trespassing. As soon as I realised, I shouted and alerted the loco pilot. The emergency brake was applied, however, the trespasser fell and was stuck below the cattle guard,” said Santosh Kumar, CPWI. He added, “When I reached near the cattle guard initially, I thought he won’t survive. However, he was alive. We were a team of seven people who managed to pull him out. He suffered minor injuries.”

Chief public relations officer, CR, Shivaji Sutar said, “Following the incident, general manager of CR, Alok Kansal, has announced an award of ₹2,000 each to the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot.”