A major tragedy was averted today when a gangman flashed a red-signal to stop the Amritsar-bound Shatabdi Express, when he saw a truck on the railway tracks near Chehru Railway Station, in Jalandhar.

The train was about to pass the tracks when the gangman noticed a loaded truck, with its wheels stuck deep in mud, on the tracks. He immediately showed a red signal and the driver immediately stopped the train, railway officials said. The train could proceed after a delay of about 40 minutes only after the truck was pulled out with the help of a tractor.