Alert Crew Take Timely Action To Save Passengers Lives

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Swift action by the loco pilot Ranjeet Kumar, assistant loco pilot Hashid K and guard Shailender Kumar of train 01134 (Mangaluru Jn - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai) averted a major disaster.  The incident took place around 6.10am on July 23 when the train was proceeding from Kulem towards Castle Rock up the Ghat at km 39/800 near the Dudhsagar-Sonaulim section. Ranjeet Kumar noticed that the mud was slipping ahead on the track from the sidewalls of the hill beside the track.

Sensing danger, the loco pilot immediately applied emergency brakes and brought the train to a stop. Due to mud and soil mixed boulders on the track due to continuous very heavy rainfall, the engine got derailed along with two sets of wheels, despite the immediate braking. He informed the station master of Dudhsagar about the same, to give a message to the control office, Hubballi. Upon noticing the emergency brake being applied, Shailder Kumar applied hand brakes to the brake van.

Parallelly, the guard and loco pilot instructed the assistant loco pilots of the leading and banking engines to place detonators at a stipulated distance on the track at both rear and front, and also secured the train by tying chains to the track, placing wheel-skids etc as per standard safety protocol. Ranjeet and Shailender noticed that from the steep cutting of the hill beside the track, slush and mud were also falling on the coaches immediately behind the front engine. 

In order to ensure the protection of passengers, they shifted them from the first three coaches to the rear coaches, uncoupled these coaches from the rest of the train. Displaying alertness, and presence of mind, the crew took instruction from their senior officers in Hubballi divisional control office and utilised the rear (banking) engine to pull the train with 345 passengers back to Kulem station. Shailender Kumar accompanied by loco pilot SD Meena, assistant loco pilot SK Saini took the train safely.

Ranjeet Kumar

Hashid K

Shailender Kumar
Ranjeet Kumar and his assistant Hashid stayed back with the derailed engine near the spot to assist in restoration.

BACKGROUND OF THE GHAT SECTION

The Castle Rock-Kulem Ghat section is 27kms long, It is a single line rail section passing through western Ghats in the uninhabited territory through a forested area. The entire ghat section has a steep gradient (1 in 37) and trains are pushed with engines in the rear (for providing sufficient horsepower) in addition to the engines in front. The stations between Castle Rock and Kulem, namely Caranzol, Dudhsagar and Sonaulim are connected only by rail with no road connectivity. 

This is challenging terrain. On July 22 and 23, this section witnessed an intense rainfall of 640 mm in 48 hours, which resulted in land-slide. For displaying courage and exemplary presence of mind in taking swift action to shift passengers to safer coaches, and transport the train back to Kulem, Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SWR appreciated the crew and announced a cash reward. The crew of this train acted as ‘first responder’ at the site, even before the rescue team arrived, resulting in the saving lives of passengers.

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