Alert Train Driver Applies Emergency Brake To Avert Collision With Trolley In Agra

An alert driver prevented an accident at Etmadpur railway station near Agra in Uttar Pradesh last week when a freight train was stopped just a short distance behind a train trolley on the same track. According to a memo issued by the station master of Etmadpur railway station, the incident took place at 2:40 pm on July 13 when the loop line in question was under supervision and workers were running a trolley to check its fitness. While the trolley was on the track, the freight train, Etah Special that was going from Agra Fort towards Tundla, was diverted from the main line and given a green signal for this loop line.

The moment the train entered the loop line, the loco pilot saw a train trolley running towards it. He applied an emergency brake and stopped the train approximately 110 metres before the trolley. The driver took pictures and recorded a video which he later shared with the senior officers. “It is an unusual situation which should not happen at all. We were fortunate that the speed of the train was just 15 km/h hence it was stopped before hitting the trolley,” Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of North Central Railway, said.

He added, “The departmental inquiry is going on and we will take strictest action against people whose lapses caused this kind of situation.” However, Anand Swarup, who has been transferred from the charge of Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Agra on July 17, 2023, played down the whole incident and said that there is nothing unusual about it. “It is not unusual. No rule was violated. There is no safety issue involved,” Swarup responded to PTI in a WhatsApp message.

Safety experts say that according to the train accident manual, such incidents fall into the category of averted collision. “There are laid down norms for track supervision with train trolleys and responsibilities have been assigned to all the stakeholders to avoid a situation where trolley and train come on the same track but lapse on the part of any one of the parties can create this kind of scenario,” a safety expert, who works as a consultant with the Railways, said.

Sanjay Pandhi, working president of Indian Railways Loco Running Men Organisation, said, “It looks like there was a communication gap between the station master and the train trolley workers. There are norms that trolley operators will inform the station master before starting and after finishing the supervision work but in this case this norm might have not been followed.”

Office bearers of All India Track Maintainer Union said the railway safety norms are very clear that whenever track supervision will be done, the track in question will be blocked against movement of trains. “Often, officials take a shortcut and carry out supervision without taking any block arrangement. In such situations, these untoward incidents happen. This is a very serious issue,” Anuj Shukla, General Secretary, All India Track Maintainer Union, said.