A catastrophic train accident was narrowly avoided on Tuesday night thanks to the sharp instincts of the driver of the Erode–Chennai Yercaud Express, who stopped the train near Magudanchavadi in Salem district after detecting alarming signs of trouble.

While the train was passing through Sangagiri, about 2 km from Magudanchavadi station, the driver heard a grinding noise and spotted sparks flying from beneath the wheels. Acting swiftly, he slowed down and halted the train, then immediately alerted railway authorities.

Upon inspection, officials found a large metal block lodged between the train wheels—raising serious concerns about an attempted sabotage. The object’s size and weight suggested it was unlikely to have been placed by a single person, pointing to the possibility of a coordinated attempt to derail the train.

The Railway Police rushed to the scene and began a formal investigation into how the obstruction ended up on the tracks. The Yercaud Express had left Erode around 9 p.m., and the incident occurred roughly 40 minutes later.

Thanks to the driver’s quick thinking, a potentially fatal derailment was avoided.

This incident follows a similar close call in April near Chennai, where missing bolts on a track alignment device at Thiruvalangadu station nearly led to disaster on the Chennai–Bengaluru route.