Southern Railway rewards Motorman who flagged safety issue in March
Chennai Division agrees to implement safety recommendations of inquiry committee
Southern Railway has dropped disciplinary action against motorman K. Karunakaran, who spoke up about a critical safety issue on March 5, 2026, between Ambattur and Avadi railway stations. The courageous action of the motorman earned him commendation and even a potential award at the Railway Board level. On the day of the incident, Karunakaran stopped his train, even though the signal indicated clearance to proceed, after observing two other trains parked on the same track.
He took the extra step of photographing the scene and promptly alerted his superiors to the safety concern. The signal malfunction was swiftly rectified, and normal train services resumed. However, when investigators conducted their inquiry, they found the motorman "blameworthy" for exceeding the permissible speed limit. The All India Loco Running Staff Association had argued for dropping the action against Karunakaran, praising his efforts in an otherwise challenging situation.
Upon further examination, it was revealed that the automatic signal (S192) had malfunctioned multiple times before, but was hastily reset by a local signal department technician without adhering to the correct procedures. Additionally, other automatic signals had also experienced failures in recent times, but no thorough investigations into the root causes had been conducted.
The inquiry committee, comprising senior railway officers from various departments, concluded that launching a safety drive in the Chennai Division was necessary. They emphasized that station masters needed to be educated about the proper resetting procedure for the multi-section digital axle counter (MASDAC) while restoring signal failures.
The committee recommended implementing a double lock arrangement for access control to prevent random opening of the relay room by signal technicians for mere resetting. Moreover, they emphasized the need for making diagnostic panels in the MASDAC huts failsafe. The Chennai Division embraced the recommendations and tasked the relevant departments with implementing the necessary actions.
However, no response was received from the Southern Railway spokesperson regarding the inquiry committee's recommendations and the reward given to the whistleblower motorman.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
