Passengers onboard a DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) train from Karur to Tiruchi had a miraculous escape as an alert gatekeeper noticed thick smoke in one of the diesel power cars and brought the train to halt at Veerarakiyam railway station on Sunday.
The 12-car rake was approaching the station at 7 a.m. when smoke was noticed by Jagannathan, who was deployed at level crossing no. 41. He alerted the station master of Veerarakiyam, Salem Railway Division, sources told The Hindu . The train was immediately brought to halt and all passengers got down.
Railway sources said the loco pilot used a fire extinguisher to put out the smoke. Fire fighters from the nearby Chettinad Cement Factory also joined them. Senior officials from the Tiruchi and Salem Railway Divisions, besides those from the Diesel Loco Shed, Erode, inspected the diesel power car.
A diesel engine was pressed into service to haul the train which left Veerarakiyam station after a delay of nearly three hours.
( With additional inputs from R. Rajaram )
