Rail fracture - alert villager saves 1200 lives

An alert villager sleeping in a house near the railway track heard loud sound and found 35 mm crack on the rail during the inspection. A train passed over the track few minutes earlier and found another train coming on the same from the light focus in the night. He could alert and stop the train by waving red cloth. It is reported that such cracks are possible due to temperature variations and do occur during the time of the year (winter?).

The brother of the alert villager also alerted the authorities about similar fracture just 72 m away from the place of this incident.

The news paper report can be found here.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Villager-with-a-keen-eye-prevents-train-crash/articleshow/10798150.cms

If this is the case, entire track should be checked for its integrity without waste of time. If the cracks are common as reported, then whether the cracks are appearing only in this section of rail track or all over the country should be found and quality checks of the rails and review of rail specifications should be done immediately. A decision also needs to be taken to replace the tracks at regular intervals, if the cracks do appear after certain length of service.

The alert villager needs appreciation and be recognized in public forum for his service.