The presence of mind of a train driver of the Mumbai Kurla Terminus-Mangaluru Central Matsyagandha Express (Train No 12619) helped avert a disaster at Kedur village in Udupi district on Tuesday.
The loco pilot saw that the track was flooded with rainwater and stopped the train near Kedur village at 10.10 a.m. The loco pilot, Anantha Narayanan, along with assistant loco pilot, Suraj, then got off the train and inspected the tracks for some distance to check if the train could move on it. But the track was filled with water. It was only after the water receded that the train left the place at 11 a.m.
Sudha Krishnamurthy, Public Relations Officer of Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd, told The Hindu that since it was raining heavily, the Station Master at the Kundapur Railway Station had handed over a Caution Order to Mr. Narayanan. The loco pilot informed the Control Office in Mumbai and the Kundapur Railway Station that he had stopped the train as the tracks were covered with water, she said.
Meanwhile in another incident, a peepal tree fell on a compartment of the Netravati Express (Train No 16345) as the train left the Udupi Railway Station towards Mangaluru at 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday due to heavy rain and gusty winds. However, no one was injured. After the tree was removed, the train proceeded on its journey.
