Driver steers train to Kovai for 7 hrs with damaged windscreen

Nearly 2,000 travellers aboard Coimbatore-bound Intercity express (train no: 12679) were put through such a nightmare on Wednesday, only they did not know what they were going through. Yes, the crew of train no: 12679, loco pilot S Anbu and his assistant Sreenivasan had operated the train, which has the peak capacity to clock 110 kmph, for most part of the 497 km journey with their vision ‘compromised’. 

The windshield of the loco (engine) shattered an hour after starting from Chennai at Kadambathur between Tiruvallur and Arakkonam where miscreants hurled stones at the engine. Such was the impact, that the pelted stones breached the iron shield and ripped through the ‘lookout’ glass (windshield), which shattered and injured the loco pilots, one of whom even suffered minor cut injuries in his chest. The injured crew loco pilot had operated the train for the remaining 7 hours with not only a damaged ‘lookout’ glass, but also headwind blowing in to the engine through the damaged windshield. 

“The incident will be brushed aside as a minor one as no eventuality has been reported, but what if the compromised journey had resulted in something untoward. Let alone the accountability being fixed on the loco pilot, there would have been severe life and property loss,” loco running staff requesting anonymity said, admitting that the damaged wind shield and headwind was a major distraction that could affect the crew’s judgement. 

In April 2016, a similar incident was reported at Tiruvalam between Arakkonam and Katpadi wherein miscreants hurled a coconut at the engine of the express train no: 12291 in which loco pilot Balakrishnan from Bengaluru was injured. Six people were detained following a DSP level probe. Sometime early this year, a passenger suffered head injuries when miscreants pelted stones at a class II sleeper coach on Egmore – Tambaram route. “Loco pilots of express trains regularly face stone pelting incidents. Miscreants often target the engines. We do not know why? If you had noticed, many AC and chair cars of Shatabadi and ordinary trains would have cracked windows,” said another loco pilot.