Extraordinary Aid: Two Trains Stopped for Exam Student Who Boarded the Wrong One

 A touching story was reported recently where railway officials and others intervened to rescue an Advanced Level student who was scheduled to appear for the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination at the Alawwa Rahula Maha Vidyalaya examination center, but faced a helpless situation due to mistakenly boarding the wrong train. This nineteen-year-old student, appearing for the Advanced Level examination for the first time this year,

boarded the train from Mirigama railway station with the intention of going to Alawwa. However, on Saturday morning, she had boarded the express train running from Colombo to Batticaloa, which meant the train did not stop at Alawwa railway station and continued its journey.

Upon realizing that the train she was on was passing Alawwa, the student became extremely agitated and frightened, and began to cry.

At that moment, Mr. Suranjith Rathnapala, an accounting lecturer traveling on the same train, noticed the distressed student, inquired about her situation, and took steps to calm her down. It was then close to 8:15 AM, and the train had stopped near Polgahawela, awaiting a signal. Although nearby passengers collected money and offered it to the student, suggesting she take a three-wheeler, Mr. Rathnapala realized that getting to the main road from where the train had stopped would require crossing a paddy field and would take too much time.

Acting swiftly, Mr. Suranjith telephoned his university friend, Mr. Sajith Wickramasinghe, who works in the train control room, and informed him of the incident. Prioritizing humanity and going beyond his duty, Train Controller Mr. Sajith Wickramasinghe immediately contacted the Polgahawela Station Master and arranged for the express train running from Kandy to Colombo to be held at Polgahawela.

Accordingly, as soon as the student's train arrived at Polgahawela, they were able to transfer her to the other train that had been held, and send her back towards Alawwa. After she disembarked at Alawwa, Railway Security Officer Mr. Nimal Rupasinghe intervened and safely directed her to the examination center by three-wheeler. The cooperation shown by the train controllers, station masters, drivers, guards, and also the passengers who came forward to help the student in making this good deed a success has been praised by everyone.