Routine switch keeps some out of harm’s way

BENGALURU: An engine switch in Visakhapatnam flipped Santosh Jain’s coach from the tail to the front. And that routine railway exercise made the difference between life and death for the passenger of the Howrah-bound train.
The 38-year-old was part of a 110-member group travelling to Sammed Shikharji, a Jain pilgrimage site situated in Jharkhand. “We avoid watching violent movies, but ended up seeing much worse. There were mangled coaches, bloodsoaked bodies and scores of injured passengers screaming for help,” said Santosh, who was in coach S5 while some of his fellow pilgrims travelled in coaches S3 and S7 of the Sir M Visvesvaraya-Howrah Superfast Express.
The Karnataka pilgrims were taken to Kolkata on a relief train and they left for their destination on Saturday.