Damaged track: Driver’s alertness averts major train accident
LUCKNOW: A major train mishap was averted after an alert train driver applied emergency brakes soon after he noticed an abnormal shattering noise while the train was nearing Unnao station here on Wednesday.
The incident was reported at around 8am just 20 minutes after the train— Utsarg express had left Lucknow junction. The Railways officials said, as the Farakkhabad bound train neared Unnao, the driver noticed sudden shattering noise. “It was completely an abnormal thing as such sound is generally not heard in regular operation,” a senior railway officer said. On being suspicious the driver immediately applied the emergency brakes bring train to halt. On further inspecting, the driver learnt that the cause of the shattering noise was the gaping crack in the railway track. “Indeed it was a serious situation as the train was packed with passengers and had the driver not noticed the sound and had allowed the train to pass, it could have been a disaster,” another officer said. The alert driver, after noticing the snag, at once informed the station from where a team of staffers rushed to the spot to check the snag. After they noticed the crack, the officials allowed the train to pass using fish plates on the track and repaired the track later. Incident has resulted into the delay of around half a dozen trains on the route. The railway officials said the track was restored within an hour or so.