Potential disaster averted on Konkan Railway route near Udupi, track maintainer rewarded

Udupi: A potential disaster was narrowly avoided on the Konkan Railway route near Udupi on Sunday morning, thanks to the vigilance of track maintainer Pradeep Shetty. At 2:25 am, Shetty discovered a track weld failure between Innanje and Padubidri and promptly reported the defect, preventing a possible train mishap.

The track defect was swiftly addressed, and by 5:58 am, a track fit certificate was issued with a speed restriction of 20 kmph. Santosh Kumar Jha, Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), appreciated Shetty’s quick action and announced an immediate cash award of Rs 25,000. The award was presented to Shetty at the restored track site later in the afternoon.

According to KRCL officials, the Panchaganga Express bound for Karwar was detained at Nandikur Station, approximately 9 km south of Padubidri. Simultaneously, the Netravathi Express bound for Thiruvananthapuram Central was held up at Innanje. Officials observed a Rail Maintenance Vehicle (RMV) was summoned to Padubidri for track restoration work.

Train Number 16345, the Mumbai LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Central Netravathi Express, was scheduled to depart from Udupi at 3 am, while Train Number 16595, the KSR Bengaluru-Karwar Panchaganga Express, was due to pass through the affected stretch around 4 am on Sunday.

Both trains remained stationary until the track defect was rectified.

Sudha Krishnamurthy, the manager of public relations at Konkan Railway, confirmed that train traffic resumed after the track received certification for safe operation, albeit with the speed restriction in place. However, the cause of the track defect has not yet been disclosed by Konkan Railway officials.