Broken railway track spotted in time

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya,TNN | Nov 22, 2015, JALPAIGURI: When 45-year-old Garen Roy was walking along the tracks beside his house in Maynaguri to answer the nature's call on Saturday morning, little did he know that in the next 30 minutes he would save hundreds of lives. 

As the first train passed, Garen noticed that it shook on a particular stretch. A screeching sound came from the tracks. "I was shocked to see that the track was broken. It was time for the Uttar Banga Express to pass," he said. 

Roy immediately informed a railway staff who swiftly swung into action. 

"A New Cooch Behar-bound train was on time. Had Garen been late, anything could have happened. The train was stopped ahead of the Jarda river bridge," said Sanjay Dutta, a railway staffer. Prior to the Uttar Banga Experss, Teesta Torsa Express, Kamrup Express, Brahmaputra Mail had passed by, but nothing happened. 

"There was a crack on the track. Thankfully, it was repaired before it could do any damage," said Sanjeev Kishore, DRM, Alipurduar. A departmental probe will be done to find out how the crack remained unnoticed. "We will send the damaged part to laboratory to find out the exact reason behind the crack," he added. 

A team of workers from Jalpaiguri Road station went to the spot and repaired the track.