To check to alertness and response time of their staff in case of an emergency, the Mumbai Division of Central Railway conducted a joint drill with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Friday at the Kalyan railway yard.
In this regard, an artificial accident scenario of passengers trapped inside a burning coach was created. The drill started at 10.43 am and the coach was set on fire. The field staff then sent an SOS message to the control room of Mumbai Division at 10.44 am. The message was relayed to the NDRF, ambulance, fire brigade and the accident relief train of the railways.
The NDRF arrived on site at 10.45 am to begin the rescue operation. The coach was cut from top and from windows, with NDRF personal entering the coach to evacuate passengers. The railway staff used fire extinguishers to douse the blaze. While the Railway ambulance arrived on the spot at 10.58 am, the
fire brigade arrived at 11.05 am.
Confirming the drill, senior public relation of CR Dr AK Singh, who was also on the spot, said the Railway Protection Force also participated in the drill and assisted the NDRF to evacuate dummy passengers by 11.30 am, with railway doctors present on the site. He said all the stakeholders were found to be responsive and fast, with the situation under control within an hour. “These drills make joint operation of railways with various disaster response agencies smoother and help substantially in real life situation,” he said.
