There are many different jobs related to the Railway industry, but the quietest and most lonely job is road patrol. Perhaps there is no other job that involves walking and as much hardship as being a railway patrolman. Thanks to the road patrol staff, the trains are guaranteed to be safe when traveling.
2 days of experience as a “doctor” examining train tracks
In the morning, it was raining lightly and the sky was overcast due to the impact of storm No. 2. We had just arrived at the Bien Hoa station area (Dong Nai). Mr. Le Ngoc Hoang, Captain of the Bien Hoa Railway Team, said that the Team manages 9 railway sectors from Bien Hoa City to Dau Giay (Thong Nhat district) with a length of 48 kilometers.
To ensure For train safety, there are 5 patrol groups with 20 employees who are responsible for regularly patrolling to promptly detect damage and incidents on the tracks to report to the chief for timely handling.
On the railway line, there is Rach Cat bridge, considered… an old bridge, more than 100 years old. This is a weak bridge that is regularly maintained by a team. The Bien Hoa road patrol group currently has a total of 4 members. A day is divided into 3 shifts, each shift is 8 hours, so they rotate on patrol. Both going and returning, each person has a total of more than ten kilometers per patrol.
We follow in the footsteps of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Mai ( 49 years old) is the oldest road patrol worker here. Putting his tool bag on his shoulder, he leisurely took us along… to learn the trade. In the bag you carry is a wrench, a screw, a firecracker, a flag, a ship’s logbook, a card, a raincoat, a bottle of water… It’s not very heavy, but with a journey of more than ten kilometers, you must have strong and flexible legs. Only tough enough to carry it.
From the first meters of the road, Mr. Mai observed very carefully. Each section of rail, each sleeper, each bolt… everything is watched. For minor damage, the patrolman will repair it on the spot.
If there is an obstacle or major damage, the patrolman acting as a traffic police officer has the right to decide to fire artillery to stop the train while waiting. Handle to ensure safety. My feeling during the patrol trip was that the railway was boring and meaningless, but for Mr. Mai, the road was his close companion.
As he walked, Mr. Mai happily told stories about his profession. He has been involved in the road patrol profession for more than 23 years. In addition to making a living, the road patrol job requires loving the job to be able to do it. The brothers jokingly call each other “train track doctor”.
Previously, he worked as a road patrolman on Tanh Linh road (Binh Thuan) and was closely connected to the mountains and forests, seeing elephants and monkeys… crossing the railway at those times A little breath of life in the dark solitude of the night.
“Two years ago while patrolling through Buu Hoa ward, I discovered a young man removing rail accessories. At that moment, I approached him Knocked down the thief, pinned him down, then called the palace chief to hand him over to the police for handling,” he said.
Another memorable memory for Mai is the case of a man and a woman.. . slept soundly on the train tracks in the middle of a deserted night. “When I was patrolling, I promptly woke these two people up to escape when the train was only a few hundred meters away. After a moment of confusion, the two young people thanked me profusely,” Mr. Mai recounted, his eyes sparkling with joy. fun.
During the journey, the patrolman also cleaned the tracks : Pick up milk cartons and plastic bags that are stuck… without leaving any obstacles. At Km 1698, a household that was repairing a house left many woven panels close to the railway line. Mr. Mai reminded the homeowner to remove brick and stone materials from the safety corridor.
The homeowner immediately apologize and happily comply. Mr. Mai said that this was not always the case, many people did not cooperate or were upset when reminded.
About 1 hour later, about 300m from the Km 1696+458 barrier, I heard the sound of a train from afar. The road patrol worker confidently raised his flag to announce that the road was safe.
The train had just passed the steps of the road patrol still walking on the tracks. By the time I finished the 3km distance to the foot guard, I was starting to get tired, my backpack carrying the camera was heavy on my shoulder and I was sweating profusely… That was only 3km. Road patrollers have to travel the entire route, including more than 10km back and forth.
Previous At that time, we also had the opportunity to “apprentice” with an employee of the Di An station patrol team (Binh Duong), Mr. Trinh Dinh Dinh (40 years old) who has worked for 16 years. During the nearly 4km long railway from Di An station to the border with the city. We in Bien Hoa heard him tell his sad and happy stories about his job.
Mr. Dinh said that the daily work of a road patrolman is like a pre-programmed machine that seems simple but demanding. Must have good health and be quick to respond to unexpected incidents that may occur on the tracks.
“Even though the work is monotonous, I still love my job and don’t feel bored. My husband and I both worked in the same railway industry. There were difficult times. My wife told me that he wanted to change to another job, but I found the job familiar and the joy of seeing safe trains, so I did not quit my job even though it was difficult.” Mr. Dinh confide.
Saving people from the scythe of death
Day after day, whether it is a sunny day or a stormy night, road patrol officers still step by step with the railway frame 24/7 to ensure train safety.
Besides the road patrol staff, the railway maintenance teams ensure the North – If the South is always clear, the guards also play a very important role. Railway sections passing through cities and urban areas are indispensable for guard staff, who guard railway intersections day and night to ensure smooth train operations.
At guard guard Km 1696+458 (City. Bien Hoa) we met Mr. Tran Van Nam (49 years old) when he had just seen off a passing train. Recently, Mr. Nam saved a person’s life. That day, a man passed by when the train was approaching. Nam threw himself in and knocked the man out of the nose of the passing train…
“At that time, the barrier was lowered. When I got down, I saw a middle-aged man who appeared to be drunk crossing the street. Luckily, I reacted in time. But it’s my responsibility to ensure the safety of trains going back and forth. It’s normal to save people It’s not a big deal,” Mr. Nam said slowly.
This is not the first time the Bien Hoa barrier guard rushed to save people right in front of the ship in February 2019 Dau Company (Quyet Thang ward), two security guards, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh (36 years old) and Do Thi Lan (33 years old), promptly pulled a 70-year-old woman who had fallen on the tracks out of the nose of the train to escape. died in an instant.
Ms. Minh has been a guard for 14 years. She said the guard job is also very difficult and requires maximum safety in the profession. However, some people are conscious of greed Traffic is still limited when the guard is closed, many motorcyclists still deliberately rush past, cursing and even assaulting the guard still happens, making double-duty workers sad and sad.
< p>In 2018, when she was blocking a young man who showed signs of being drunk, he drove his car towards her, causing the barrier to hit her head, and now the scar on her forehead still remains.
Talk about inner feelings. The profession of road guard or patrolman also has some worries. Everyone says you can endure hardship, but what you desire most is awareness traffic of the people must be increased. At that time, the road patrolmen guarding the roadblocks saw that their work was shared a lot.
Every day on the North-South railway line, there is still the crisp sound of iron wheels on the tracks. Every train going to its destination – arriving safely there is always the hard sweat of the silent workers…
According< /em> Vinh Phu
Traffic Newspaper
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