Loco pilot walks the extra mile to save a life

Southern Railway has rewarded a loco pilot whose timely action averted a potential run over situation involving a trackman on duty. 

According to railway sources, the incident occurred on December 4, 2025 when Train 12970 Jaipur-Coimbatore Super Fast Express was running at full speed after crossing Katpadi. 

Loco pilot K. Nadarajan saw a man standing in the middle of the track some 300 metres ahead not responding to the blaring horn. 

It turned out he was a trackman (patrol man) who was on duty to ensure safety of the track. He was looking at a goods train passing on the adjacent track and could not hear the sound of the express train fast approaching.  

Sensing trouble the loco pilot decided to apply emergency brakes. The train was running at 110 kmph. “He seemed engrossed in the sound and movement of the goods train passing in the adjacent track and could not hear the horn of the approaching train. Realising a potential run over situation, I applied the emergency brakes and brought the train to a halt just short of the standing man,” Mr. Nadarajan said on Wednesday. 

According to railway sources, it is the discretion of the loco pilot to apply emergency brakes to avoid run over situations. “It depends on the distance and speed to stop a train. Where there is a possibility to save a life by applying emergency brakes every Loco Pilot will do so without any hesitation,” a railway official said. 

On Tuesday (February 10, 2026) Shailendra Singh, the Divisional Railway Manager of Southern Railway’s Chennai Division presented a certificate of appreciation to Mr. Nadarajan. 

Southern Railway reports about 200 run over cases each year and most of them could not have been avoided. “When a person suddenly appears before a train or the distance (of emergency brakes) is less then it would not be possible to stop the train,” the official said. 

As regards the safety of the trackman, the railways was implementing Delivering Occupational Safety on Track (DOST), a software that would give real-time information on the movement of trains in the section to track workers, the sources said.