Kochi: A drunkard who tried to take a Metro walk on the tracks, instead of a cool ride, landed in police custody on Tuesday. The major security breach occurred when the man, allegedly in an inebriated condition, jumped onto the Kochi Metro rail tracks at Palarivattom station, forcing the authorities to suspend train operations for nearly 50 minutes. However, the security officials acted fast by switching off the power line and caught him after a chase. The accused was identified as Ali Akbar, 33, a native of Thenjipalam in Malappuram. According to Metro rail sources, the incident happened at 4.15 pm. He started walking northward to Chengampuzha station to the horror of onlookers.
“The security personnel switched off the power supply to avoid electrocution from the third traction. He was caught from about 200 metres from the station,” a spokesperson said. “Luckily, there was no train scheduled to reach the station when the incident occurred. We’ll lodge a separate complaint with the Palarivattom police.
The offences (jumping onto Metro tracks and entering Metro premises in a drunken state) could get a jail term of four years under Metro Act,” a spokesperson said. “We subjected him to a medical test and he was found to be drunk. This is the first case involving Metro. We’ll also slap charges under the Metro Act besides the regular ones in consultation with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd,” the police said.
Getting down on the Metro tracks is a dangerous affair as the third rail is energised with 750 volt DC supply. A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. As per the system, the power supply line is placed in between the two tracks of the rail, and the train gets the seamless power supply as it runs on the tracks.
