Loco Pilot saved life

Train drivers & guard save passengers

TNN, Feb 12, 2011,

KOLKATA: General class passengers of the Howrah-Puri Express had a narrow escape in the wee hours of Friday after their compartment caught fire near Narayangarh station. Though nobody was injured, there was panic among passengers, and train services were disrupted for four hours.

Had it not been for the quick reaction of the drivers and guard, the fire could have spread to other compartments.

The fire in the SLR (luggage van-cum-general coach) was detected as the train approached Narayangarh, 142km from Howrah, around 12.56am. Pilot S Soren and co-pilot S K Banerjee applied emergency brakes and stopped the train on the outskirts of Narayangarh station.

With the help of guard S Tudu, they evacuated the SLR of the 25-odd passengers and detached it from the rest of the train, said a railway official. The driver and his assistant then drove the locomotive, with the burning SLR, to Narayangarh station, where firemen took three hours to put out the blaze.

SER general manager Vinay Mittal has asked officials to carry out inspections to see if inflammable and other dangerous cargo are being loaded in SLRs.