This is the terrifying moment a locomotive pilot in south India takes a ride on an excavator to get down from a railway bridge after aiding a stopped train. 

The Howrah-Ernakulam Express came to an abrupt halt on January 20 on a 50-foot tall railway bridge just after crossing Tanguturu in Andhra Pradesh state. 

Locomotive pilots realised that a passenger had pulled the alarm chain. The only way to get the train going was to fix the alarm chain at the coach where it was pulled. 

But the affected coach was in the middle of the bridge and there was no pathway to reach it. 

Assistant loco-pilot R K Jha got down and crawled underneath the train to reach the affected coach and fixed the snag. 

Realising that the walk back to the engine was too risky, the train guard R M Sridhar sought the help of a JCB excavator working near the bridge to safely bring down Jha. 

The excavator approached the train and raised its arm. Jha stepped into its bucket cautiously and was brought down. 

A senior official of South Western Railway said Jha managed to restart the train after just 30 minutes.''He demonstrated the exemplary courage and dedication of Indian railway staff to passenger safety,'' the official added. 

This is the terrifying moment a loco-pilot takes a ride on an excavator to get down a railway bridge.

The man, who had taken immense risk to get a stranded train moving, was brought down safely.

The Howrah-Ernakulam Express came to an abrupt halt on January 20 on a 50-feet tall railway bridge just after crossing Tanguturu in South India.

Loco pilots realised that a passenger had pulled the alarm chain. The only way to get the train going was to fix the alarm chain at the coach where it was pulled.

But the affected coach was in the middle of the bridge and there was no pathway to reach it.

Assistant loco pilot R K Jha got down and crawled underneath the train to reach the affected coach and fixed the snag.

Realising that the walk back to the engine was too risky, the train guard R M Sridhar sought the help of a JCB excavator working near the bridge to safely bring down Jha.

The excavator approached the train and raised its arm. Jha stepped into its bucket cautiously and was brought down.

A senior official of South Western Railway said Jha managed to restart the train after just 30 minutes. “He demonstrated the exemplary courage and dedication of Indian railway staff to passenger safety,” the official added.