This Indian Railways train carries its own 'gatemen'; reason will flummox you

At a time when the Indian Railways is on a drive to remove unmanned level crossings, a bi-weekly train in Tamil Nadu halts at 35 such intersections with two staff on board hopping on and off to close and open the gates before proceeding.

Besides halting at these level crossings, the recently introduced train, which is the only one plying on a 72 km stretch between Karaikudi and Pattukottai, stops at seven stations during its around three and half hour journey.

Running only on Mondays and Thursdays, the service was inaugurated on June 30, over three months after the line was converted into broad gauge. There are two ‘gatemen’ on board— one at the front compartment and the other at the rear.

When the train stops at a level crossing the first one jumps down and closes the gate. The second alights after the train crosses and stops a few metres from the crossing. Read More

Indian Railways