A train hits a platform on foggy Thursday morning in Bihar. (PTI)

Bhagalpur, Jan. 13: Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Sultanganj in Bhagalpur had some important work at Siliguri but because of the delay of Brahmaputra Mail he reached a day later. Result, his work went for a toss.

Like Ramesh, many passengers had to face difficulties while travelling on the Kiul-Sahebganj route via Bhagalpur on the loop section of the Eastern Railway. Most of the trains running on the route were delayed by several hours because of the dense fog. The drivers of the trains had to face a tough time to see the signals.

Even after the Indian Railways underwent a modernisation drive, the loop section continues to depend on the age-old system of signalling, introduced by the British.

“We have to depend on firecrackers during fog-covered nights to locate the signals. The British introduced the system of firecrackers to alert drivers of trains about signals when the visibility dropped near to nil because of fog and darkness. As a result, we have to drive trains at a speed of 17-25km/hour and this results in delay,” said Dipak Prasad, an assistant driver on this section.

During foggy conditions, drivers fail to track green or red lights on the outer signal and the railways used to arrange firecrackers at a distance of 170 metres from the outer signal to caution the drivers. “When the train passes over the tracks, the special firecrackers are burst and the driver gets the message from the sound of the crackers,” an official said. The official pointed out that there were three types of special firecrackers, which produced three sounds. One sound indicates danger ahead, two indicates that the route is clear and the third sound indicates danger and immediate halt.

“Sometimes because of the mechanical commotion of the engine, it is hard to hear the sound of firecrackers and it leads to confusion. Suppose the train is moving fast and all of a sudden enters the 170-metre radius of the outer signal and in place of hearing two sounds, we hear one sound, we would apply brakes to stop the train. After verifying, we start the train but by that time the train gets late,” Ambika Prasad, a train driver said citing reasons of trains getting late during winter.

“Since the modern electronic device was not introduced here, movement of trains rely on the age-old system, which are not approved keeping the security point in view,” said a railway official on condition of anonymity.