Alert man waves red shirt in front of train, averts mishap

ROHTAK: A rail mishap was averted near Rohtak railway station on Tuesday morning after an alert citizen waved his red shirt to slow down the Punjab Mail that was diverted to a rail track where some maintenance work was going on.

As per railway police, the Punjab Mail, connecting Mumbai to Ferozepur Cantt via Rohtak, was delayed for around 10 hours on Tuesday.

The train usually arrives on platform number 2, but on Tuesday morning, a Rewari-bound passenger train was already halted on platform 2, and the Punjab Mail had to be diverted to platform 1 in a last-minute change.

However, the private contractual workers, who were changing the rail tracks leading to platform 1, were caught unawares by the incoming train and ran for their lives as the train inched closer, leaving behind the parts of rail tracks.

“An alert citizen, who was observing the development, removed his red shirt and waved it before of the train. Due to this, the train slowed down, but could not completely come to a halt.

Some parts of rail track left by workers on line got stuck under the wheels of the engine. But as the train’s speed was slow, a major mishap was averted. Had the train been at high-speed, it could have derailed,” said Rohtak GRP police station in-charge.

The police said it took one hour for officials to remove the part of rail track that was stuck under train’s wheels. The train later departed from Rohtak railway station after an 11-hour delay.

IN A LASTMINUTE CHANGE, PUNJAB MAIL WAS DIVERTED TO PLATFORM NUMBER 1, WHERE CONSTRUCTION WORK WAS GOING ON