Alert technician gets a pat

An alert senior technician, P. Prabhakar, posted at the Warangal Railway Station on July 9, averted what could possibly have been an accident involving the Hazrat Nizamuddin-Chennai Central Duranto Express (No. 12270).

The technician detected a crack in the frame of one of the bogies and stopped the train.

For the safety consciousness and commitment shown by him in the course of his duty, he was presented a cash award of Rs. 3,000 at the Rail Nilayam here on Tuesday, in the presence of several senior officers.

Mr. Prabhakar made a ‘Rolling-in Examination’, a safety check procedure conducted every 250 to 300 km at pre-designated stations. It involves inspection of the bottom of the coaches for rattling noises, loose or hanging parts and the like.

He checked the Duranto express on its way to Chennai and when he heard an unusual sound in one of the coaches, he stopped the train and after a thorough check, found a crack in the bogie frame near the axle box of the rear trolley. Such a crack is stated to be a rare occurrence and one that is difficult to identify on a running train. The coach with the crack was detached from the train and it left 90 minutes later, with the passengers adjusted in the other coaches.

A press release said senior railway engineers rushed to Warangal for a microscopic examination, including a fracture analysis and metallurgical tests. A report will be sent to the production unit for necessary action.