“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou.
Did you know that India has 67,367 km of railway tracks — six times the distance between New Delhi and New York. Every single km is covered by the track maintaining crew daily…called “gangmen”.
A Gangmen also known as trackman plays a vital role in Indian Railways, They are on continuous surveillance of the tracks. Their job also involves shunting i.e. attaching and detaching coaches in yard. They support JE/SSE of Indian railways in every work.
These men of the Indian Railways are the soldiers because of whom the passengers are safe. They are just the Indian Railways in one word. Their presence is unknown to many of us or we actually never paid any attention to them. They worked quietly on the sidelines fulfilling their duties towards the railways laying down the tracks repairing them and maintaining the track making sure that there is no shortfall.
These men of the Indian Railways are the soldiers because of whom the passengers are safe. They are just the Indian Railways in one word. Their presence is unknown to many of us or we actually never paid any attention to them. They worked quietly on the sidelines fulfilling their duties towards the railways laying down the tracks repairing them and maintaining the track making sure that there is no shortfall.
Like every other gangmen, a gangmen goes to work early in the morning and the permanent way Inspector tells them where the work is to be done. After reaching the site the supervisor presents them the rooster and distributes the work among them.
A gangmen usually walks 4 to 5 kilometers everyday inspecting every inch of the railway tracks. Every day they carry tools weighing approximately 15 kg on their shoulders; generally they carry a fish bolt spanner to tighten nuts and bolts, a tricolor lamp to alert locomotive drivers of any potential danger on the tracks and a rod weighing 2 kg to fix the lamp, if needed. People like them brave the vagaries of weather, snakes and wild animals, especially in remote areas, and filth on tracks (imagine) to correct defects or to warn drivers of danger. It’s extremely hazardous.
If we don’t do our work properly then we feel that the Indian Railways won’t function properly just like humans cannot work without the support of the backbone. This is exactly how our engineering department is. If you do not work carefully the train can derail anytime. Each gangman has to be extremely attentive while working. Quoted by a gangman on duty.
On records many major accidents have been averted due to high vigilance of gangmen on tracks;
They have to inspect each and every track they have to make sure that no lock is open making sure no nut or bolt is loose; they have to fix it immediately if they find a fracture they have to inform the Permanent Way Inspector immediately. Gangmen focus all their energy in getting the work done on time. Extreme weather conditions do not stop them; in every situation even if it is raining heavily they will not stop work and the safety of the train depends on them . As they are on the tracks there is a lot of hard work; our job involves a lot of risk and danger. It’s extremely hazardous; the train can come at any time because of this danger. There is one person who is always on the lookout for the train to signal others working on live tracks; mutual trust amongst them is very important for the gangmen. According to Indian Railways 768 track maintainers were run over by trains between 2012 and 2017.
It is because of the hard work of the gangman the railway ply safely on time and reaches its destination safely and on time… for the passengers to be happy .
“I am gangman I am the Indian Railways.“
They are nevertheless more than an Indian Soldier….a Soldier has the responsibility to protect their motherland and they protect all the Passengers of Indian Railways… Salute You All…JAI HIND…JAI BHARAT..A big salute for you guys!! you are one of the backbone of Indian railways who ensures every passenger is safe while traveling!!
by Ali Sayed
Next time you see gangmen working on tracks; give a respectful view and gesture a thumbs up to them. Their day becomes brighter when they feel part of a larger group of people who care and appreciate them.
