The damaged fishplate. Picture courtesy STAR Ananda

A train driver who braked immediately on noticing a broken fishplate on the Howrah- Tarakeshwar route was hailed as a hero on Sunday, barely 48 hours after the Coromandel Express derailed in Orissa.

“Driver S.S. Singha’s alertness saved the Down Tarakeshwar local from a possible accident. Had the wheels gone over the fishplate, the crack might have widened,” a senior official of Eastern Railway said.

The 2,000-odd passengers packed into the nine compartments, mostly devotees returning after a visit to the 18th century Tarakeshwar temple in Hooghly district, said their prayers again after learning that it wasn’t a normal stoppage.

“Friday’s accident was the first thing that crossed my mind when I heard that our train could have been derailed. Thank god we are safe,” said Howrah resident Shova Das, returning home after offering puja at the shrine.

The train was delayed by 45 minutes as workers repaired the damaged track.

A fishplate is a metal bar that is bolted to the ends of two rails to join them together. The top and bottom edges taper inwards so that the bar wedges itself between the top and bottom of the rails when it is bolted into place.

The train was approaching level crossing No. 23, around 55km from Calcutta, when Singha noticed the fishplate coming loose and slammed the brakes. “There was already a small gap between the rails,” a source said.

Eastern Railway contested allegations about lax vigilance. “At this time of the year, rail fractures or fishplates coming loose is common because of fluctuations in day and night temperatures. Tracks are inspected regularly but a one-inch gap between rails can go unnoticed,” an official said.

Ashok Mondal, the station manager at Tarakeshwar, said a train was unlikely to meet with an accident unless the gap between rails was three inches or more. “But with the Coromandel Express derailing two days ago (nine persons died in the mishap), we didn’t want to take a risk and let the train move ahead until the problem was fixed.”

A team of officials supervised the repairs and carried out an inspection before the Tarakeshwar local got the green light to resume its journey.

“No other train was delayed because of the incident,” a spokesperson for Eastern Railway said.

Many of those travelling by the Tarakeshwar local, however, missed connecting trains.

“I was to catch a train to Burdwan after getting down at Sheoraphuli. I missed it,” said Shyamal Bagh, an apprentice with a decorator.

Ashish Rana, the chairman of Tarakeshwar Municipality, demanded an inquiry into the incident. “Thousands of devotees visit Tarakeshwar by train every day. The railways are accountable for their safety.”