Riding out a storm: how six field personnel of South Central Railway averted a major disaster Premium

Trackman G. Mohan and colleagues averted disaster by swiftly preventing a major train accident during heavy monsoon rains.

In the early hours of September 1, a blinding flash of lightning split the dark night sky, followed seconds later by a deafening thunderclap. Rain poured relentlessly, drenching everything in sight. Trackman G. Mohan’s tricolour torchlight pierced through the deluge, revealing nothing but sheets of rain between South Central Railway (SCR)’s Kesamudram and Intekanne sections, between Secunderabad and Vijayawada, some 180 km from Hyderabad.

As Mohan, who has over a decade of experience, battled the elements, the stage was set for a major disaster — one that could have claimed thousands of lives. With nearly 110 trains passing through this crucial section daily, including long-distance passenger and freight trains, the submerged tracks posed an immediate threat. But thanks to the swift actions of Mohan and his colleagues, tragedy was averted just in time.

Drenched in his thickset raincoat with radium sticker, Mohan could barely see the tracks beneath the swirling waters. Just a few kilometres away, his colleague B. Jagadeesh, another seasoned trackman in the Tadla Pusapalle and Mahabubabad section on the same route, was facing a similar challenge. Both were on high alert as the Sanghamitra Express, speeding from Bengaluru to Danapur, hurtled towards the danger zone.

The weather department had already sounded the alarm about heavy rains, and SCR was on high alert. But for Mohan, this warning wasn’t just another bulletin — it was a ticking time bomb. As he scanned the waterlogged tracks, the unmistakable rumble of the Sanghamitra Express, speeding from Bengaluru to Danapur, grew closer. There was no time to lose.

Mohan sprinted towards the oncoming train, his tricolour torch slicing through the storm. On the tracks, he quickly placed detonators — small devices that explode without causing damage but create a sound loud enough to warn the loco-pilot. As the locomotive hit the detonators, a series of deafening bangs pierced the air, prompting the alert loco-pilot to slam the brakes, stopping the train just in time.

Meanwhile, a few kilometres away, Jagadeesh, facing a similar situation due to submerged tracks, alerted the section engineer and station master, leading to an immediate suspension of train operations.

Their quick thinking, along with the efforts of other patrolling staff — trackman K. Krishna, bridgeman B. Zail Singh, junior engineer V. Saida Naik, and senior section engineer P. Raja Mouli — helped avert a major disaster and save thousands of lives. Inspections later revealed that the downpour had washed away the ballast and damaged the tracks at no less than 15 locations.