Alert railway staffer averts accident after lorry falls on track

A railway staffer helped avert a major accident by alerting authorities about a sand-laden lorry struck on track between Shravanabelagola and Channarayapatna on Wednesday morning.

Naveen Kumar, a keyman with the South Western Railway, was informed by a local resident about the lorry having fallen on the track. Kumar immediately alerted the authorities at the BG Nagar railway station, and advised the station master to stop the movement of trains in the section. Timely action avoided what could have been a serious accident, the SWR said.

The lorry was lifted by a crane at 9.48 am and the track was certified fit with speed restricted at 20 kmph at 9.55 am.

The Yeshwantpur-Karwar Express Special (06211) and the Solapur-Hassan Express Special (01311) were delayed by an hour. The trains were regulated for 55 minutes.

'No rush of migrant workers'

The SWR on Wednesday clarified that there was no crowd of migrant workers at any railway station in its jurisdiction.

Giving a list of 10 fully-reserved trains operating between railway stations in Karnataka and those in other stations, the SWR said berths/seats in all the trains were given only to confirmed ticket holders and that wait-listed passengers were not allowed to board.

The SWR sought to reassure the public that train services would continue, citing the Covid-19 guidelines released by Karnataka. "In the days to come, based on further demand, the railways will examine and plan more train services as per the guidelines," it added.

Railway museums shut

The SWR has shut the Mysuru Rail Museum and the Malgudi Museum at Arasalu railway station to public viewing from April 22 to May 3. The date of the reopening of the Malgudi museum will be finalised after assessing the overall situation, it said.