EMU mishap averted after foot-long rupture on track

Significantly, the fracture did not result in an accident, courtesy a traveller who alerted the motorman (EMU driver) moments before the latter had piloted the train toward Egmore from Chetpet station at quarter past 6 am. Investigations revealed that a foot-long portion of the rail was missing, unlike the usual fractures, where it would be an inch-long, in many cases due to a weld failure. Loco running staff who operate on the route admitted that it could have been a serious accident. 

“Luckily, it happened close to the station. At Chetpet station, slum dwellers and travellers frequently trespass and cross the tracks. It was one such person who had spotted the fracture and informed the motorman who in turn had alerted the station,” said a loco pilot requesting anonymity. The wheel would have sunk in and lifted the rear portion of the engine (first coach) if a EMU rolled over the damaged portion and this would have taken longer than 90 minutes to repair, the loco pilot added.  

Significantly, Tuesday’s incident on the EMU line has also belied officials who usually attribute fractures on the main express line to overload and discharge from train toilets, which easily corrode the tracks and cause fractures. “On EMU lines there are neither toilet droppings nor overload, so what caused such a huge rupture?” an operations department officer questioned, suggesting that the images of the fractures show that the bottom of the track had an old crack and only the top portion had ruptured this morning, possibly, when the previous train rolled over.