CR staff spots rail fracture, alerts motorman

Vikram Samadhan, a patrolman working with Central Railway (CR), averted a major tragedy and became the saviour of passengers onboard a mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) train on Thursday.

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Samadhan, while inspecting railway tracks at Taloja to Kalamboli railway section, spotted a rail fracture at 8.33am. He then placed detonators on the tracks to alert motormen about the fracture.

Samadhan then noticed a MEMU train approaching the tracks. He ran towards the MEMU train with a red flag, signalling the motorman of an emergency. The motorman successfully halted the train before the rail fracture.

The train, which was headed towards Diva railway station, had more than 1,000 passengers and was operating at a speed of 90kmph.

CR said it will award the patrolman. “It was quick action on the part of the patrolman. As soon as he spotted the rail fracture, he placed the detonators and also alerted the motorman of an approaching train. Samadhan will be awarded,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relation officer, CR.

A Right To Information (RTI) query filed by activist Sameer Zaveri revealed that CR witnessed 323 rail fracture incidents between January 2016 to September 2019. Western Railway (WR) witnessed 93 such incidents in the corresponding period.

Rail fracture occurs when railway tracks develop cracks. The cracks can occur due to multiple factors, including adverse weather conditions, lack of proper maintenance or due to miscreants removing the fish plates that help align the railway tracks.

If the rail fracture had not been spotted, it would have resulted in derailment of the train.