After trackman’s death, a plea for safety measures

Track maintainers say Railways should provide them walkie-talkies

Railway track maintainers, keymen, and pointsmen have sought safer working conditions against the backdrop of a trackman being fatally knocked down by a loco engine and his colleague getting critically injured in Thrissur on Monday. The duo had got onto the next track upon seeing a train approaching on the track they were walking on, and were run over by the loco engine. Alappuzha native Harshakumar died on the spot. “Around 300 of our colleagues die each year in such accidents. We have been demanding that Railway provide us walkie-talkies to get live alerts on train movement and to improve our working conditions. This would help personnel in remote locations inform supervisors about the condition of railway tracks if need arose,” said Sarathkumar S., secretary in charge, Southern Railway Track Maintainers’ Unity. He said he too had encountered a similar incident. “Visibility is especially poor during the rainy season and at curves and when there are trains in both the up and down tracks.”