UP: Station Master dozes off on duty, makes express train wait for half an hour

The Patna-Kota Express train waited for a green signal for about half an hour at Udi Mor Road station near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh on May 3 as the station master fell asleep on duty.

Taking serious note of the incident, the Agra Division, under which the station falls, has asked the station master to explain the reason for negligence which could have resulted in an untoward incident.

"We have issued a charge sheet to the station master and disciplinary action is being taken," Agra Railway Division PRO Prashasti Srivastava told PTI.

Railway officials said the Udi Mor Road station is a small but important station before Etawah as trains going towards Prayagraj from Agra as well as Jhansi pass from this station.

According to sources, the loco pilot of the train had to blow the horn multiple times to wake up the station master and make him turn on the green signal for the train to pass.

"The station master has admitted his mistake and apologised for the lapse. He said that he was alone at the station as the pointsman who was on duty with him had gone for track inspection," a source said.

"Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Tej Prakash Agrawal has taken serious note of the incident as his focus is on improving punctuality. He has been insisting on and encouraging employees to improve punctuality which has resulted in achieving 90 per cent punctuality recently.

"However, dereliction of duty on the part of the station master has not only ruined others' hard work and dedication but also posed grave risk to train operations," the source said.