Recently, a major accident was averted through the coordination of the locomotive pilot, assistant locomotive pilot, and locomotive inspector of the Vande Bharat train that runs between Udaipur and Jaipur. At the time when the accident could have occurred, there were hundreds of passengers travelling on the train. Locomotive pilot Mubarak Husain, assistant locomotive pilot Pramendra Salvi, and Chief Locomotive Inspector Vinod Wilfred have been honoured as outstanding employees of the Ajmer Mandal for the year 2023-24 for their role in averting the accident. This honour was presented to them by Mandal Rail Manager Rajiv Dhankhad at the Mandal Office. Senior Mandal Mechanical Engineer Manmohan Meena was also present on the occasion.
In fact, on October 2, locomotive pilot Mubarak Husain and senior assistant locomotive pilot Pramendra Salvi were operating train number 20979, the Udaipur City-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express, from Udaipur City to Ajmer. At the same time, Chief Locomotive Inspector Vinod Wilfred was on an inspection. During this time, when the train passed through Ghangrar station in the Chittorgarh-Ajmer section of the Ajmer Mandal, the locomotive pilot suddenly noticed that a series of stones had been placed on both tracks, extending for about 20-25 meters, and a road plate about 1-1 foot long made of iron was laid on both sides of the track, which was covered with sleepers.
Seeing the situation on the tracks, the locomotive pilot and assistant locomotive pilot immediately applied the emergency brakes and brought their train to a stop at around 9:55 am, safely about a foot before the obstruction. The locomotive pilot and assistant locomotive pilot got down from the train and removed the stones placed on the tracks. They also cleared the track by removing the iron road plate with the help of a hammer. After that, with the clearance of the track, the train was allowed to depart at 10:01 am with clearance from the on-duty train manager. In this process, the train was delayed by 6 minutes. However, all three of them, through their alertness and professionalism, averted a major rail accident. They also saved the revenue and public interest of the railway.