Passengers push-start a train in Bihar
PATNA: Believe it or not, hundreds of passengers came out of a train in Bihar to push it for about 60 metres before it re-started. All this happened in the home state of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad who takes pride in having achieved a turnaround in the fortunes of Indian Railways.
"It was a rare moment when hundreds of passengers pushed a train for a few metres to reach their destination. This is no joke, it happened here," said Satyendra Tiwari, who was one of the passengers involved in that unique effort.
Tiwari, a daily commuter, said the 565 UP Patna-Buxar EMU train had Tuesday suddenly stopped after some passengers pulled the alarm chain to stop it near the Raghunathpur station on the Howrah-Delhi Main Line route.
"Then the driver of the train requested the passengers to push the train because there was no way out to restart it as it stopped in the neutral zone - that is, between the two power sub-stations - where there was no power supply," Tiwari told IANS Thursday.
He said the driver requested the passengers to push the train till the next point from where the locomotive could get power.
Even hundreds of passengers together failed to push an inch of the EMU train, which is a lighter train, in their first attempt. They succeeded only after the engine was de-linked. The engine was later pushed separately and re-connected with the coaches.
Tiwari said the passengers pushed the train for 60 metres, heaving and weighing from behind and the sides of the train, under a hot summer sun.
Authorities confirmed that the local train was pushed by passengers following a breakdown in the "neutral zone" between Patna and Buxar.
"Though a rarest of rate instance in railways history, it did happen," a railway official confirmed.
Railway officials said if a train stopped in a neutral zone and there is no power supply, it is not possible to restart the locomotive.
They said the overhead cable has neutral zones between two sub- stations and power supply is not available at such points. Trains pass such small areas without any difficulty thanks to their momentum.