Gatekeeper averts train mishap
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A major train mishap was averted near Pallavaram late on Monday night when a railway gatekeeper spotted fire a few inches from the overhead railway electric line on the Beach-Tambaram route and informed authorities who in turn stopped trains on the route.
Around 9 pm, the gatekeeper stationed at level crossing no 24 near Pallavaram spotted fire on the scaffoldings raised for constructing a railway overbridge there, according to police.
The scaffolding was just inches away from the 25,000v overhead railway electric line.
The gatekeeper immediately informed the railway control room where authorities swung into action. They severed power supply to all the four lines on the route and also suspended express and EMU train services on the Beach-Tambaram route.
The Tirunelveli-bound Nellai Express from Egmore was stopped at the St Thomas Mount railway station, while the departure of the Pandian Express from Egmore was postponed.
In the opposite direction, the Guruvayur Express was halted at Tambaram and passengers were advised to alight and take buses to reach their destinations. Announcements were also made about the delay in EMU and express train services.
The gatekeeper, along with a few gangmen there, doused the flames that were perilously close to the high-voltage electric wire, while fire officers from Tamabaram rushed to the spot and put off the fire completely.
Preliminary enquiries have revealed that the fire could have been caused by sparks from welding work that was done to raise scaffoldings for the railway overbridge that was being constructed above the electric line.
A departmental inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire, railway police sources blamed the contractors involved in the bridge construction.
Sparks from the welding had fallen on the wooden blocks that caught fire, sources added.
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