Alert CR patrol man averts mishap on Mumbai-pune route
MUMBAI: A disaster was averted by an alert patrol man in the central railway’s (CR) ghat section on Tuesday morning.
Sunil Bihari, while inspecting the tracks between Monkey Hill and Thakurwadi railway stations, found a ‘creep’ — changes in the movement of railway tracks which creates difference between rail sleepers and tracks.
Bihari halted the CSMT-PUNE Intercity Express train that was approaching the section. If the error had not been detected it could have resulted in a derailment.
CR declared a block from 9am to 9pm to rectify the error after which the outstation trains began operating.
“It was indeed a commendable job by the patrol man who spotted the creep in the railway tracks minutes before the Pune intercity train arrived. A block was immediately taken and the error was rectified,” said a senior central railway official.
The CR closely monitors the section between Kalyan and Lonavala during monsoons as the entire ghat section has boulders which could fall on the railway tracks and disrupt the train services.
Therefore, CR deploys patrol men on the entire section who inspect the tracks at regular intervals.
Moreover, CCTV cameras are also installed on the entire ghat section to monitor the movements of boulders.