Ali Akbar, 33, jumped onto the track at the Palarivattom metro station around 4pm Monday.Kochi: A drunken man who jumped onto the metro track and ran along it for about 200 meters escaped unhurt, but caused Kochi Metro to halt train services for about an hour on Tuesday. Police identified the man as Ali Akbar, 33, of KK Peedika at Thenhipalam in Malappuram district.
He jumped onto the track at the Palarivattom metro station around 4pm. Security personnel at the station immediately disconnected the line that supplies power to the train by pressing the emergency button, saving him from possible electrocution.
In Kochi Metro, trains get power supply from a line that runs between the two rail tracks, and not from an overhead line as in places like Delhi. This third line transmits 750 volt DC voltage, and could have caused instant death had the man touched it.
The incident is seen as a serious security breach on the Kochi Metro.
The metro doesn't allow even those who are mildly drunk, but here a man who was in an inebriated state could take a ticket like any other passenger and pass through security checking to enter the platform.
When security personnel on the platform tried to send him back, it led to squabbles and he jumped onto the track.
The security men followed him after switching off the powerline, but he ran along the track towards the Changampuzha Park station.
The information was passed on to the train operations control center and all trains on the track were stopped.
Those who were waiting for and in trains didn't know what the problem was as the service came to a halt. As the power supply was cut off, air conditioners in the trains stopped working.
Passengers in trains were later taken to nearby stations.
The man who was caught by the security personnel and metro police was handed over to the Palarivattom police. A medical examination confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Entering the tracks is an offense with a maximum jail term of four years, under three sections of the Metro Act.
The metro police have been given equipment including breath analyzer to detect passengers who are drunk. The personnel are selected from the Kerala Police and given special training before being inducting into the metro police.
Kerala Metro Rail Ltd officials said they would investigate the security breach.
