Drunken guard ‘hits’ rail traffic

Chennai: A drunken train guard on duty on Thursday night delayed trains running between Chennai and Arakkonam after he stopped his train at Senji Panambakam railway station and refused to continue to do his duty.Following the incident, passengers roughed up the guard and handed him over to security personnel besides staging a protest at Senji Panambakkam railway station.

Passengers of the EMU fast train running between Chengalpet–Vellore via Chennai Beach noticed the guard was not reacting to the motorman‘s signals when the train reached Ambattur railway station.When the commuters along with the driver went to the guard room, they noticed that guard Sadanandan was fully drunk and was not able respond to their questions.

The driver reportedly then decided to run the train on his own but the passengers became restless as the guard continued not to react when the train stopped at Veppumpattu, Ekattur and Kadambattur stations.When the train reached Senji Panambakkam station, commuters became angry and they protested against the train crew’s attitude.They also dragged the guard out of his cabin and roughed him up besides questioning the driver who had been motoring the train without the mandatory help from the guard.

As tension started building up, senior railway officials and the police rushed to the scene and pacified the agitated commuters. The drunken guard was taken out of the station on a stretcher to a nearby hospital.The entire episode delayed the train by more than one hour and it also affected the schedule of other trains running in the same stretch.“The guard has been placed under suspension. There will be departmental action against the guard,” a senior railway official told DC.