Elderly man escapes falling flat on railway track without a scratch

CHENNAI: Call it nerves of steel or immaculate presence of mind or plain luck, a 65-year-old man who was walking dangerously on the railway tracks at Pallavaram railway station lay flat on the tracks on seeing a local electric train approaching the station and escaped unhurt on Wednesday.

The elderly man crawled out of the train without as much as a scratch. It was as much a spectacle for the train passengers and the Railway police officials as it was a sigh of relief.

The man, Ravi of Thirumazhisai near Poonamallee had visited Pallavaram on Wednesday to attend a family event, police sources said. He had walked to Pallavaram railway station in the evening to return home when the incident happened.

Unmindful of an electric train coming from Chennai Beach approaching the station, Ravi was walking on the tracks and had noticed the train only when it was too near for comfort.

Since the train was approaching the station, it was already slowing down and with nowhere to go, Ravi lay flat on the tracks between the rails.

Alarmed, the motorman and the passengers got off the train to check on the elderly man and were surprised to see him unhurt.

"Since he was caught between the platforms, he could not crawl through the sides and had to crawl the remaining length of the train, which lasted for over 15 minutes, " a police officer said.

On getting out, Ravi told the policemen that he was fine and would like to go home, but the police and railway staff and passengers insisted he undergo a checkup at a hospital after which Ravi was moved to Chromepet Government Hospital.