Maharashtra: Stray rod on track brings Neral-Matheran train to a halt

The stray rod placed horizontally on the tracks; (right) loco pilot Dinesh Meena who spotted the rod and pulled the brake

It would have been a disaster if the train had hit the horizontal rail placed on the track. We spotted it in time to stop the downhill train just before the rod," said loco pilot Dinesh Chand Meena, who was driving the Neral-Matheran train on Sunday evening. The incident took place around 5.30 pm when the loco pilot noticed multiple pieces of rails and rods left on the railway track. The railways is investigating the matter.

"The passenger train was at 10 kmph on a downhill stretch on a gradient of 1/20 when we first spotted the rails. We braked hard to stop the train in time. Assistant loco pilot Sudhanshu P and I informed the train guard about it. Then we cleared the line, inspected it for safety before the train could proceed further," said Meena. A 1/20 gradient means 20 units of route run for each unit of change in height. "Their work will be appreciated and appropriately rewarded," said Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar.

Also read: Booze, mental illness behind most hoax calls to control room: Mumbai police

The full stretch of Neral-Matheran railway has been opened to the public since October 22 and has been a hit with passengers. From October 22 to 30, a total of 3,698 passengers - including 229 in Vistadome, 378 in first class and 3,091 in second class - have travelled on the line, registering a revenue of R4,84,141. Of this, R1,49,995 or around 31 per cent was from Vistadome ticket sales. The complete stretch of the Neral-Matheran train route had been shut since 2019 after monsoon damages. The line also reported three monsoon damages this year, which have been fixed.