KOTA, OCTOBER 7: A full-scale disaster management mock exercise was conducted at Gudla Railway Station on Wednesday by the Kota Division of West Central Railway in coordination with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Civil Defence and other emergency response agencies.
The exercise simulated a major train accident to assess the preparedness of railway and other agencies in rescue operations, medical assistance, information management and inter-agency coordination during an emergency.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Jain said the mock exercise began at 8:55 am with an emergency bell, followed by information to the railway control office about a simulated rear-end collision between Mumbai-Amritsar Special Train No. 02653 and a freight train stationed on Line No. 4 at Gudla station.
Under the simulated accident scenario, S-1 and S-2 coaches of the passenger train derailed and climbed over each other. The exercise included a hypothetical situation involving two fatalities and four seriously injured passengers to create a realistic disaster-like environment.
Immediately after receiving the information, the railway control office alerted all concerned departments and rescue agencies as per the prescribed disaster management protocol. The Accident Relief Medical Equipment (ARME) train reached the site at 9:15 am and rescue and medical operations were initiated.
Teams from the Railways, NDRF, SDRF, Civil Defence and other participating agencies jointly carried out rescue operations. The teams demonstrated procedures for extricating passengers trapped inside the damaged coaches, providing first aid to the injured and shifting critically injured persons for further treatment.
The railway medical team also assessed the condition of the injured and tested the system for prioritising treatment and providing medical assistance according to the severity of injuries.
Information and public communication arrangements were also tested during the exercise. Divisional Railway Manager, Kota, Anil Kalra, shared verified information regarding the simulated incident with media representatives at regular intervals. The exercise aimed to ensure that passengers and the public receive accurate and timely information while preventing confusion caused by unverified or misleading reports.
Help desks were established at Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Gangapur City and Bharatpur railway stations to test arrangements for providing information to passengers and their relatives. The exercise also assessed the effectiveness of communication and information exchange through various channels.
Officials and staff from railway departments including Operations, Safety, Medical, Mechanical, Engineering, Electrical, Signal and Telecommunications, Commercial, Personnel and Railway Protection Force participated in the exercise according to their assigned responsibilities.
The drill also focused on the rapid mobilisation of rescue resources, medical assistance, communication systems, dissemination of verified information to passengers and their relatives, and continuous coordination between railway departments and external emergency agencies.
Representatives of Indian Railways, NDRF, SDRF, Civil Defence, Fire Services, medical agencies, civil police and state and local administration also participated in the joint exercise.
Key officials present included Chief Safety Officer, West Central Railway Headquarters, Jabalpur, Manoj Gurmukhi; CMP/ED Ashish Kulharda; Divisional Railway Manager, Kota, Anil Kalra; Additional Divisional Railway Manager Lalit Kumar Dhurandhar; NDRF representative Rameshwar Yadav; SDRF in-charge Bhagwan Singh; and Civil Defence in-charge Shivdan Singh Maru, along with senior railway officials and personnel from participating agencies.
The mock drill concluded at 10:26 am, with Senior Divisional Safety Officer Purushottam Meena formally declaring the exercise complete.
A detailed briefing and review session was subsequently held at the site. Officials and participating agencies reviewed the various activities carried out during the exercise, shared their observations and discussed areas requiring improvement to make disaster response faster and more effective.
After the briefing, DRM Anil Kalra interacted with media representatives at the site, explained the various aspects of the mock exercise and answered their questions.
