It was a busy Tuesday morning on 21 June, 2022, when loco pilot (passenger), Aman Anand from the Sealdah division of Eastern Railway had taken the charge of train 03190 Lalgola-Sealdah. Unaware of what he could face ahead, he was heading towards the destination when at 11.10am, after crossing Plassey railway station, he got a shock.
As the train was moving toward Debagram in Nadia district, about 88 kilometres away from Lalgola, an open LC gate caught the attention of the loco pilot. Even with the required proper signal, the LC gate number 97/E/C was in open condition. On the other hand, an ambulance was passing from the non-interlocked gate. The loco pilot, without losing any time, quickly applied the emergency brakes to stop the train while continuously whistling to catch the attention of the gateman.
Following his alertness, the gateman also noticed the LC gate and closed it after the ambulance passed. The train, 03190 Lalgola-Sealdah left the spot safely with numerous passengers on board at 11.18am.= Like Mr Anand of the Eastern Railway, Narahari Das of the South Eastern Railway also saved hundreds of lives with his vigilant effort. On 23 October, last year, the loco pilot of mail/express trains was on duty on 13287 South Bihar Express from Bilaspur to Rourkela. As the train passed the Lajkura cabin of South East Central Railway at 1.48pm, Mr Das noticed a defect at one point while moving ahead.
Without wasting time, he applied the emergency brakes and stopped the train, saving hundreds of lives on board. From among the 100 awardees, the two loco pilots have been selected for the upcoming ‘Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar – 2023’ award, which is to be given by the railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw tomorrow at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.