Konkan Railway staff prevents train accident by detecting track defect

28 May 2024 CW Team

Pradeep Shetty, a track maintainer on the Konkan Railway route near Udupi, played a crucial role in averting a potential disaster. In the early hours of Sunday, at 2.25 am, he came across a track weld failure between Innanje and Padubidri. He promptly informed the concerned officials about the issue, thus preventing a possible train mishap. The defect on the track was quickly rectified, and by 5.58 am, a track-fit certificate was issued with a speed restriction of 20 kmph for trains traversing it. Santosh Kumar Jha, Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Railway Corporation, acknowledged Shetty's swift action and announced an immediate cash award of Rs 25,000. The award ceremony took place at the restored track site later in the afternoon.

According to passenger Vishal Shenoy, who was traveling aboard the Panchaganga Express bound for Karwar, their train was halted at Nandikur Station, approximately 9 km south of Padubidri. Similarly, the Netravati Express bound for Thiruvananthapuram Central was also held up at Innanje. Shenoy noticed a Rail Maintenance Vehicle heading towards Padubidri for track restoration work. The Mumbai LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Central Netravati Express, Train Number 16345, was scheduled to depart from Udupi at 3 am, while the KSR Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express, Train Number 16595, was supposed to pass through the affected stretch around 4 am on Sunday. Both trains remained stationary until the track defect was rectified.

Sudha Krishnamurthy, Manager of Public Relations at Konkan Railway, confirmed that train services resumed after the track received certification for safe operation, albeit with the speed restriction in place. However, Konkan Railway officials have not disclosed the cause of the track defect yet.

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