The Indian railway system is regarded as the foundation and lifeblood of the country’s economy. Indian railways span thousands of kilometres practically covering the entire nation, making it the fourth largest in the world after the US, China, and Russia. Due to its low cost and effective operations, railways continue to be the most popular means of transportation for most Indians.
With such a huge network and significance in the country, it becomes imperative for the people associated with running the affairs of this entire system to be extraordinarily disciplined and dedicated towards their responsibilities as Railways cannot afford anything short of it.
Although the people at helm in the railways have leveraged technology to a large extent to ensure streamlining of movement of trains, the sincerity of the employees engaged for keeping the system running remains paramount for the safety of trains when running and when at rest. The simultaneous traversing of hundreds of trains across the country with extreme ease requires the hard work and seriousness of the thousands of workers accomplishing the job of making the train travel smoother and safer.
The thumb rule for safety of trains is enshrined in the words of caution commonly used by the railways staff in Hindi language, ‘Sawdhani Hatti Durghatna Ghati’. The latest instance about the alertness and sincerity of the railway staff has come to fore from the Bhangala Railway Station in the Jammu division of Northern Railway where reportedly a major train accident was averted due to the extraordinary presence of mind and alertness of Station Master on duty.
Although this is not the first case or the only case of staff’s dedication to prevent mishaps because on daily basis, the vigil maintained by the employees of the railways ensure the safe movement of trains from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and Mizoram to Munabao in Rajasthan because of exemplary discipline and seamless alertness shown by these men and women working on rails, at stations, in trains and inside the manufacturing units, because synergy between all is the key to safety.
In the case of Bhangala Railway station, the Station Master noticed smoke and sparks coming from the wheel of the 15th coach of the engine of an empty NMG freight train passing through Bhangala Station. After noticing the same, he signalled the train manager to stop the train. Later the technical problem was rectified and the train was allowed to depart safely. That’s the spirit of railways and that is why railways is the most popular mode of transport in India.
