KOCHI: When the situation turns dire, the brave take the reins. Something along the lines happened on the Aluva Railway Bridge over the Periyar River on Tuesday, when a young Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) on board the Ernad Express got down to release the air brake that got applied after a passenger pulled the emergency chain.

Speaking to TNIE, Ben Thampy, the young TTE on board Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru Central Ernad Express, says, “I was on duty along with a senior TTE on the train up to Shornur. It so happened that when the train entered the Aluva Bridge, it came to a sudden halt. Following this, the locopilot got down and started inspecting the train to identify where the brake got applied.”

During the inspection, it was found that the chain had been pulled in the AC coach. According to Ben, once the emergency is applied, the only way to release it is to go to the specific coach and do it manually. “And as per the standard protocol, the process has to be done by the guard. However, in this situation, the guard got isolated and couldn’t reach the said coach. So, I contacted the senior TTE and sought permission to rectify it.”