Red ants jam Central Rly train brakes

MUMBAI: When the electro-pneumatic brakes of a Central Railway suburban train failed to function at Matunga on Tuesday, the motorman later found that the braking system was infested by red ants.
This alarming disclosure of ants in brakes was brought to the notice of CR general manager Sunil Kumar Sood, who clarified to TOI that the red ants had not damaged any cable or equipment in the braking system.“The EP brakes do not function if you don’t apply it at a proper range of speed. The red ants must have infested when the rake was lying at Matunga workshop for two months. I will order complete pest control at the shed and have directed officials to open all brake systems in suburban trains and check for any infestation,” he stated. Sood added that there were three brakes in the train and if one did not function, the other two were relied upon besides the automatic braking system on tracks.