Train accident averted on Konkan Railway route as vigilant staffer notices defect on track

UDUPI: A potential disaster was avoided on the Konkan Railway route near Udupi, thanks to the vigilance of track maintainer Pradeep Shetty.

In the early hours of Sunday, at 2.25 am, Shetty discovered a track weld failure between Innanje and Padubidri. He promptly reported the defect to the concerned officials, preventing a possible train mishap.

The defect on the track was swiftly fixed, and by 5.58 am, a track-fit certificate was issued with a speed restriction of 20 kmph for trains running on it.

Santosh Kumar Jha, Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), recognised Shetty's quick action and announced an immediate cash award of Rs 25,000. The award was presented to Shetty at the restored track site later in the afternoon.

Passenger Vishal Shenoy, who was aboard the Panchaganga Express bound for Karwar, recounted that the train was detained at Nandikur Station, approximately 9 km south of Padubidri. Simultaneously, the Netravati Express bound for Thiruvananthapuram Central was also held up at Innanje. Shenoy observed a Rail Maintenance Vehicle (RMV) heading towards Padubidri for track restoration work.

Train Number 16345, the Mumbai LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Central Netravati Express, was scheduled to depart from Udupi at 3 am, while Train Number 16595, the KSR Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express, was due 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 traffic resumed after the track received a certification for safe operation, albeit with the speed restriction in place. However, the cause of the track defect has not yet been disclosed by Konkan Railway officials.