A major accident was averted at the Kootagulla railway gate on National Highway No. 42 in Kadiri town in the early hours of Saturday as the gate remained open while the Nagercoil-Mumbai (CSMT) Express (Train no. 16340), was about to pass the gate at 12.04 a.m. with the gateman allegedly deserting his workplace. There was good amount of traffic on the national highway, and some youth regulated the traffic on noticing a train coming in that direction.
The loco pilot stopped the train at the gate signal and verified at the gate as to why it was kept open and no signal given even when the train had approached the place, after leaving Kadiri Railway station, and was proceeding towards to Kalasamudram towards Dharmavaram.
Guntakal Additional Divisional Railway Manager K. Suryanarayana said that it was an interlocked gate and before allowing a train to pass that gate, the nearest station master (Kadiri in this case) had contacted the gateman but when he did not receive any response for a long time, alerted the loco pilot. “Following the standard operating procedure, the loco pilot stopped the train at the gate signal and went to the gateman’s booth and on finding none at the booth, downed the barriers, took the train forward and crossed the gate at 12.30 a.m.,” the ADRM added.
The Guntakal Railway officials have suspended the gateman, Narsimhulu, and have instituted an inquiry and an alternative gateman was arranged by 12.30 a.m. , to ensure flow of road traffic on the highway, he said.
