Gateman suspended after he forgets to close rly crossing

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 10

The gateman deployed at Grain Market railway crossing near Arora Palace Cinema has been suspended after he did not close the railway crossing when a freight train was approaching on Friday night.

A major tragedy was averted as some passersby stopped the traffic on both sides of the crossing after spotting the freight train approaching.

The passersby alleged that the gateman deployed on the railway crossing was in an inebriated condition when the train was approaching and he did not close the crossing. According to sources, the train driver stopped the train and when people visited the cabin of the gateman, they found the cabin locked from inside. People started knocking the door, but he did not open the door. They said he only opened the gate after the train passed the crossing.

“Had some passerby not stopped the traffic, it could have led to a major tragedy,” said a truck driver.

People also made a video clip of the entire incident and made it viral on social media. After the video went viral, the authorities of Ambala Division of Northern Railways marked an inquiry into the matter and suspended the gateman.

“We have marked an inquiry into the matter and suspended the gateman deployed on the crossing where the incident took place. It is a serious matter and an action would be taken after thorough investigation,” said Promila Gupta, senior DSO of Ambala Division.

The incident

A major tragedy was averted on Friday after some passersby stopped traffic on both sides of the crossing after spotting the freight train approaching. The passersby alleged that the gateman deployed on the railway crossing was in an inebriated condition when the train was approaching and he did not close the crossing. According to sources, the driver stopped the train and when people visited the cabin of the gateman, they found the cabin locked from inside. People started knocking the door, but he did not open the door. He only opened the gate after the train crossed, they said.

Disturbed traffic adds to rail passengers’ woes 

Ludhiana: Dipping mercury and poor visibility added to the misery of rail passengers, who continued to suffer from erratic run of trains, as one train was cancelled for the day, three rescheduled and many more were running behind schedule. According to railway officials, the 13005 Howrah-Amritsar Mail was cancelled for the day, while three trains – 12332 Jammu Tawi-Howrah Himgiri Express (4.45 hours), 22423 Gorakhpur-Amritsar (4 hours) and 15210 Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa Express (3.55 hours) were rescheduled for late departure. Passengers waiting at the railway station to board their respective trains lamented that the same sad story (of delays, last moment cancellation and rescheduling) repeats every year during winter due to fog and low visibility. “Railways make tall claims about the installation of anti-fog devices and other measures to maintain the railway timetable, but nothing worthwhile seems to have been done to cut down the persistent inconvenience to passengers,” they said. — Kuldip Bhatia 

Trains running late

• 11 to 13 hours: 12331 Howrah-Jammu Tawi Himgiri Express, 12491 Barauni-Jammu Tawi Maur Dhwaj Express
• 6 to 9 hours: 12203 Saharsa-Amritsar Garib Rath, 14649 Jaynagar-Amritsar Shaheed Express
• 3 to 5 hours: 12237 Varanasi-Jammu Tawi Begumpura Express, 18101 Tatanagar-Jammu Tawi Muri Express, 15210 Amritsar-Saharsa Jansewa Express, 15209 Saharsa-Amritsar Jansewa Express
• 1 to 3 hours: 15707 Katihar-Amritsar Amrapali Express, 15531 Saharsa-Amritsar Express, 11057 CST (Mumbai)-Amritsar Dadar Express, 12238 Jammu Tawi-Varanasi Begumpura Express.