An alert motorman of the central railway averted a possible disaster and saved the day on Wednesday. At 10.58 am, a motorman of Thane- CSMT local noticed a banner hanging on the overhead wire. He immediately alerted the guard of the local train running on the affected track as a result the Dombivli bound train was stopped just 25 meters before just the banner that was hanging on the overhead wire and a possible disaster was averted.
"V S Jakate, motorman while driving the Thane -CSMT up local saw an advertisement banner hanging on an overhead wire between Byculla and Sandhurst Road station on down line. He immediately switched on the flashlight of his train to attract the attention of the down local line train" said an CR officer adding that hanging banner could lead to damage to the pantograph and overhead wire, causing major disruption.
After getting information, concerned officials rushed to the site and removed the banner and the Dombivli bound local train then left at around 11.25 pm. During the period, train operation on down slow line between CSMT and Byculla was stopped resulting in cancellations three local services were cancelled and around 15 were delayed up to 15 minutes due to the cascading effect.
"Jakate alerted the motorman of the Dombivli bound train by turning his flashlight on after applying the emergency brakes. That time the motorman cabin of the Dombivli bound train passed, hence he stopped the train near the guard cabin of the Dombivli bound train. After noticing the flashlight, Milnd Shelke, the guard of the train going towards Dombivli immediately informed the motorman of his train P S Sapkal. Sapkal then immediately put the train to a halt by applying emergency brakes" said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of central railway adding that V S Jakate's presence of mind and timely action saved the day.
Praising the efforts of Jakate, Sapkal and Shelke, CR officials said, all there will be rewarded suitably. Asked about the action taken against the advertiser, officials said, all hoarding and banners near the track of the section will be checked and notice will be served to the offenders under railway act.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
