Konkan Railway steps up monsoon safety with night patrols, round-the-clock watchmen

Margao: With the arrival of the monsoon in the Konkan region, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) has intensified its safety measures by introducing night patrolling over critical sections and deploying stationary watchmen round-the-clock at vulnerable locations.

As part of this enhanced vigilance, KRCL’s safety department recently organised a safety seminar on monsoon patrolling, along with a live demonstration of patrolling procedures.

Night patrolmen are tasked with foot patrolling their assigned sections from sunset to sunrise, keeping a close watch for unusual occurrences such as soil slips, boulder falls, track flooding, and other conditions that may affect safe train operations. Any such abnormality is immediately reported to the nearest station master for prompt action.

Each patrolman is assigned a beat of up to 5km and is required to exchange a patrol diary with the patrolman covering the adjoining beat. The successful exchange and onward movement of the diary between adjoining stations serves as a vital indication that the section is safe for train operations.

A live demonstration of the patrol diary exchange process was conducted during the seminar. Various emergency scenarios that could hinder the smooth exchange of diaries between stations were simulated, and participants were guided on the actions to be taken under such circumstances.

The session was chaired by KRCL chairperson and managing director Santosh Kumar Jha. Director (Way & Works) Rajeev Kumar Mishra addressed the gathering and highlighted the critical role of night patrolling in ensuring the safety of train operations during the monsoon.

The seminar was attended by senior officials and around 175 participants, including trackmen, patrolmen, watchmen, station masters, supervisors from technical departments, loco pilots, and train managers, a spokesperson of KRCL said.