Delayed start of Madurai-Varanasi pilgrimage train by a few seconds after Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Prahlad Joshi, flagged it off has led to suspension of a Loco Inspector.
The loco pilot has been taken off duty and would be sent for a refresher course.
The train that should have started to roll immediately after the Minister waved the green flag, however, got stuck on Platform 1 of Madurai Railway Junction.
The trains are usually operated by a loco pilot and an assistant loco pilot. However, since the VIPs were flagging of the train, Loco Inspector R. Thulasi Ram was assigned to assist the engine crew.
"After identifying that the engine had suffered brake binding, the crew immediately acted and operated the "quick release" lever and within 15 seconds the train started to move," a senior railway official said.
While everything looked normal for the crew after the train chugged out from the platform at 12.15 p.m. the Loco Inspector was handed a suspension order when he got off the train in Tiruchi. This came as a ‘huge embarrassment’ for Southern Railway officials, especially in the presence of Minister of State of Railways and Chairman, Railway Board.
However, a railway source in Madurai said that Thulasi Ram was assigned the duty at the last minute instead of another Loco Inspector Murugadoss Gandhi.
