Patna: Residents who spotted cracked railway tracks and had the presence of mind to procure a red gamchha (towel) to alert the driver averted what could have been a major mishap for the Dibrugarh-bound 123436 down New Delhi-Guwahati-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express when it was passing through the Barauni-Katihar section of the east central railway (ECR) in Katihar district, around 300km east of Patna, early on Friday morning.

Some residents noticed cracks in the down line of the track between Maheshkhunt and Mansi stations soon after the Capital Express crossed the Chaidha Bunny Halt.

A resident, Bimal Kumar, heard a loud thud after the train passed through the down line a little before 6am.

Bimal immediately called some other villagers, including Subodh Yadav and Babloo Ram, and showed them the damaged track as the Rajdhani Express was about to cross the halt.

The residents immediately brought a red gamchha from a nearby house and waved it frantically.

The driver of the Rajdhani Express applied emergency brakes to stop the train, which was running at a high speed.

By that time, the engine and three compartments of the train had already crossed the damaged tracks.

However, no harm was caused to the passengers and the mishap was averted, said ECR chief public relations officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar.

"They waved a towel to alert the driver of the danger ahead," the CPRO said.

He admitted that one engine and at least two compartments of the train had crossed the damaged tracks.

"Had they (the villagers) not noticed the cracks, anything could have happened," the CPRO added.

Rajesh said that a high-level probe had been ordered to find out the reason for cracks in the tracks.

The preliminary investigation suggested that the cracks, measuring between 1 mm and 2 mm, were found on the Katihar-Khagaria rail route.

Senior officials posted at Katihar railway station said that the Rajdhani reached the spot around 6.10am and remained stranded there till 6.40am.

Awadhesh Kumar Mandal, an official from Mansi station, later reached the spot and repaired the cracks.

The CPRO admitted that the passengers had to wait for half an hour due to the cracks in the tracks.

"The train resumed its onward journey after half an hour," he said.

Local residents said that cracks in the track on the route had been found for the third time in the past one year.

Similar damage of tracks was noticed on December 19 last year and February 13 this year between Maheshkhunt and Mansi railway stations.

Last month, the tracks were found damaged after the North East Express crossed the railway halt.

"It seems that the railway authorities are waiting for a major accident as tracks had not been replaced with new ones for a long time. Whenever cracks are noticed, they are only repaired," said a resident who requested anonymity.