Alert trackman saves the day

Trackman Laxman Jhanu, first to spot something amiss with the fast local, saved countless lives on Tuesday by immediately alerting the guard. Jhanu was sitting along the tracks between Andheri’s platform number 8-9 and Parle biscuit factory around 11 am when he sensed the train wheels making an unusual sound.

“I tried to spot what was wrong with the wheels but couldn’t see anything properly. I was sure, however, that something was wrong,” said Jhanu. He then tried to see if something was stuck to the bogie or the wheel but the train was moving at a very high speed. He immediately signalled the guard of the local by rotating both his hands to display that there was a problem with the wheels.

“I alerted the guard. Later, he must applied the brakes,” said Jhanu, who is deputed to look after the rail lines between Andheri and Vile Parle. The train came to a halt within the next few seconds but seven coaches went off the tracks. Some of them even went over to the adjoining track, on which a Borivali-bound fast train was approaching.

Later, Jhanu and his colleagues spent the day fixing the damaged tracks.