The Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Vasind and Asangaon stations at 6.42 am Tuesday. ( Express Photo by Deepak Joshi)
A DAY after he was credited with saving nearly 1,000 lives on board the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express by slamming emergency brakes upon spotting debris on the tracks, motorman Birendra Singh said he is glad to have been prepared and alert and that he was just doing his duty. “I was just doing my work. As a motorman I am trained for it and it is my responsibility to keep an eye on the tracks,” said Singh, the motorman of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express, which derailed between Asangaon and Vasind railway stations on Tuesday morning.
Soon after the incident, the Central Railway credited Singh for having been able to spot the debris on the tracks and applying emergency brakes in the nick of time, thereby ensuring that there were no casualties in spite of the engine jumping the tracks and nine coaches being derailed.
Recalling the incident, Singh, who sustained minor injuries and was rushed to the hospital soon after the incident, said, “Just as the train left Asangaon, I looked ahead to see if I had the signal to go ahead. Just then I spotted debris on the tracks and applied emergency brakes. Along with me there was an assistant loco pilot with me in the engine. After applying the brakes, the engine jumped a couple of times before falling by the tracks. I quickly held the assistant and got out of the engine through the window. Then we went and checked if any of the passengers had sustained injuries in the coaches that had derailed. We did not find anyone injured.”
A railway official said, “The debris washed on to the tracks due to incessant rains. The debris were, however, left there on account of the digging carried out for the third railway line that was to come up there.” A railway spokesperson, however, said that all precautions had been taken while carrying out the digging work for the third railway line and the incident was not linked to it.
