Alert pilot saw pointsman running to save child, hit emergency brakes to give him time
Screengrab of the heroic rescue
In the 13-second Vangani episode—from when a six-year-old falls onto the tracks and a pointsman sprints to pick him up and then climbs onto the platform—the Mumbai-bound Udyan Express train was barrelling towards them at 105kmph. The saving grace was that the train loco pilot, Vinod Kumar Jangid, who had seen the dramatic moments, applied emergency brakes bringing down the speed to 85kmph and creating a buffer of two seconds.
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Officials say Jangid too deserves appreciation for his role
This drop in speed of the train gave Mayur Shelke, the hero, a margin of two to three seconds, just enough to save both of them. Officials said Jangid’s alertness too needs appreciation as every second counted in that situation.
Mayur Shelke
“I took over the loco from Pune and was the loco pilot of the train that day, accompanied by an assistant loco pilot. At the Vangani stretch, the train is usually at 100-105 kmph. Just before the station, there is a sharp curve and we get a clear view of the station and the platform. As we were about to reach Vangani station, we saw the blind woman walking and the kid slip, the signal man flagging red and in a split of a second as we applied emergency brakes, we spotted the pointsman run towards the kid and our approaching train. He had some courage and guts, and no one can do this,” said a shaken Jangid.
Vinod Kumar Jangid, Train loco pilot
“We knew that however hard we braked, the train would not have halted there as there is a certain braking distance for a train at that speed which is around a km or so. But what benefitted was that the train had started to decrease the speed and when it was crossing the platform, it had come down to 85kmph,” he said.
The loco pilot added, “We saw everything unfold in front of our eyes and had never seen such bravery. Our salute to him and I would like to speak with him personally to congratulate him.” Shelke he wanted to thank the kaka (as train drivers are referred to) for his alertness.
85kmph
Speed of Udyan Express when it crossed Vangani station on Apr 17
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