Inside the vital role of a train guard

As a child, Robiul Islam Rumel watched the train guard wave the green flag and blow the whistle - a signal that set the wheels in motion. He did not understand the weight of the role back then. Today, he does as he himself whistles to signal train departures in Bangladesh Railway's west zone.

His father had a clerical job at the railway, but that was not his inspiration to become a train guard. Born in the northwestern border district of Lalmonirhat, he started a job after graduating from a private university in Dhaka in 2009. But the lack of security in private jobs prompted him to look for safer options.

He passed the written test for assistant locomotive master (ALM) in 2011 but was eliminated in the next round. Undeterred by the failure, he applied for the post of train guard in 2015. This time, he cleared every hurdle and got the job.

"I am not a train guard today because I wanted to become one. I needed a secure job and ended up here," he told The Financial Express.

The early days were extremely difficult. The salary was low, and he was not eligible for mileage allowances. Rotating shifts and sleepless nights left him drained.

"I could not even spend time with my wife," he said.

He also missed many family events and could not attend his grandmother's namaz-e-janaza. Overwhelmed by the poor work-life balance, he told his father he would quit. But his father asked him to persist, and he gradually adapted to the dynamic life.

"This is now my passion. This job is about serving people, which has also been stressed in our religion," said Rumel, who is a dendrophile and has many plants at home.

He was trained at the Railway Training Academy in Chattogram's Halishahar. There were 89 trainees in his batch, and he was made the captain of the group from the railway's west zone. The 76-day training covered traffic, signalling, and railway commerce.

There are only three ranks for guards - guard grade 2, guard grade 1 (b), and guard grade 1 (a). New guards usually start on freight trains, then progress to commuter services, and finally intercity trains. Rumel, who holds the guard grade 2 post, initially worked on freight trains for several years.

Senior guard Ranjit Kumar Roy greatly influenced his early career. At the time, Ranjit was sick and worked on commuter trains only. Rumel first worked with him on the Burimari commuter, which connects Lalmonirhat to the border station of Burimari, and learned the nitty-gritty of the job.

A guard is the manager of the train who mainly oversees passenger safety. He also carries out other tasks, including monitoring the train's movement, handling emergencies, and coordinating with the locomotive master (LM) and the control centre. In the rough journal, he has to log every single detail of the journey, including departure and arrival times of every station, durations and reasons for delays, and unexpected incidents.

He arrives in the station 30 minutes before his duty starts and talks to the station master to know if there is any special instruction for the journey. He then inspects the entire train from outside, especially carriage coupling. He does this as the working guard, while the conductor guard inspects the interior conditions, including seats, lights, and toilets.

Considering the critical role guards play in railway operations, Rumel thinks their payment is neither very good nor very bad. In the context of the current cost of living, he can manage to run his family. The job requires him to make many sacrifices, but it also has many interesting aspects that he enjoys.

The most amusing situation he faced involved six teenagers - three boys and three girls - aboard the Kurigram Express. The boys said they were travelling to Parbatipur from Dhaka but did not have tickets. They introduced the girls - who wore burqas, sat near the door, and looked sleepy and hungry - as their sisters.

"I had a gut feeling that something was not right and asked the on-board police officials to grill them," he said.

The teenagers finally admitted they had run away as their parents disapproved of their romantic relationships. Police handed them over to the Santahar station unit and contacted their parents in Dhaka. The parents received their children from Santahar the next day.

A more serious episode involving a medical emergency took place on the same train in 2024. A pregnant woman, who was travelling to Dhaka with her mother-in-law from a northern district, fell seriously ill. Rumel asked over the public address system if there was a doctor on board, and a few physicians responded.

"A female doctor examined the patient and said she needed immediate hospital care as her water had broken (rupture of membranes). But the next stop was still far away. I contacted the control centre, and they asked me to stop at the nearby Ishwardi Bypass station," he recollected.

He also called 999 and requested an ambulance, which arrived 10 minutes after the train had reached the Bypass station. Once the patient was transferred to the ambulance, he resumed the journey. He thinks getting doctors' help on board during such emergencies is a miracle.

His most shocking experience was the discovery of drugs by police three times on the same journey. This also happened on the Kurigram Express in 2025. It reminded him of the proverb that looks can be deceiving as narcotics were recovered from passengers who appeared innocent and gentle.

He once pulled the emergency brake to catch a thief. As the train started rolling after its halt at the Ullapara station in Sirajganj, he stood at the door and noticed a man snatching three bags from windows in quick succession. The snatcher thought the train would proceed, but he attempted to run away when it suddenly stopped.

"But he could not flee as there was fencing and a pond on one side, while stone workers were working on the other. Several passengers and railway catering workers eventually captured him," Rumel said.

The only accident he witnessed in his career involved the Lalmonirhat-bound Lalmoni Express and occurred on December 31, 2023. There is a curve after the Shahid M Monsur Ali station in Sirajganj and immediately after that, there is a level crossing (LC) gate. A hay-laden truck raced to cross the LC gate before the gateman closed it but got stuck on the tracks.

Rumel felt a jolt when the collision occurred, got off the train, and strode to the front. The locomotive crew did not get injured but were buried in hay. The truck helper, who was in critical condition, was rushed to the hospital by the rescue team, while the driver was unscathed.

"It was great to see that train passengers also helped move the truck off the tracks," Rumel said.

In his opinion, a moving train will face a mishap only if the LM, guard, and station master make mistakes concurrently or subsequently. For instance, the master of a station that the train is going to pass through holds a red flag, signalling the LM to stop because lines are not clear ahead. Now if the LM misses it for some reason and keeps driving, the guard, who is usually at the rear, will surely notice it and ask the former to stop the train.

"The British designed the system in a way that if just one of these three personnel is aware, an accident can be prevented. It is highly unlikely that all three will make mistakes at the same time or in succession," he said.

With technological advancements, the way guards communicate with LMs has changed on intercity trains, where walkie-talkies are now widely used. The LM and the guard are far away from each other on intercity trains as there are more carriages there than commuter services. This is another reason why radio communication became necessary, while whistles are mainly used to alert passengers before departures.

Rumel's favourite station is Lalmonirhat because it has a big open space, a large yard, and trees. It is possible to sit in a quiet corner of the British-era station without disturbance. Lalmonirhat-Birol is his favourite route, and he has worked on the Dinajpur Commuter, the only train serving the line.

Train stations are often theatres of raw human emotions, where tearful goodbyes and joyful reunions unfold every day. Rumel witnessed countless such scenes over the years, becoming desensitised to the pleasure and pain. But he once saw a woman bidding her husband adieu, and the poignant scene left an indelible mark on his mind.

There is another incident involving a railway employee's kindness that still stirs him. He was on duty on a freight train, which stopped at the Ullapara station in the late hours of the night. He had not had dinner yet, and no eatery was open in the vicinity of the station.

"Only a small shop inside the station was open, but I could not buy anything as I had a high-denomination note. The station master bought me bread and banana. When you are on the move and hit a snag, it is often the kindness of others that keeps you going," he said.

He is happy with the overall work environment, except for the guard coach size. He feels the coach on metre-gauge trains is cramped. Though he does not demand air conditioning, he wishes for better airflow.

However, ensuring a safe journey for passengers is more important to him than the comfort of a spacious coach. He feels the happiest when the train reaches the final destination safely and on time. Conversely, dealing with passengers who argue without understanding all sides of a situation annoys him the most.

His advice for anyone planning to be a train guard is to prepare well for the recruitment test. Unlike the police or military, applicants do not need to have certain fitness levels, and acing the exam is their best shot at getting selected. Besides, they have to be prepared to embrace sleepless nights.

He rejected the widespread idea that bribes are needed to land railway jobs. He has not yet met a train guard who paid bribes to get the job. He believes competence would get someone hired for any job.

Watching the moonlight's reflection in the beel water, especially in Pabna's Dilpashar union, from the train in monsoon gives him immense pleasure. He is even convinced that the scene would fascinate foreign tourists if they are nature lovers. Chattogram-Cox's Bazar is another route he recommends for a scenic journey.

He is deprived of a good night's sleep on overnight journeys. However, travelling miles after miles in the darkness when most passengers are asleep, often standing at the door for observation, and making entries in the rough journal give him peaceful solitude. He enjoys the solitude more on freight trains - which are way longer than passenger vehicles, but only two policemen, the guard, and the LM are on board.

Though he enjoys his job, he is willing to swap his role with a train controller if he gets the opportunity. The key responsibilities of a controller are railway traffic management and scheduling, responding to emergencies and disruptions, coordinating with railway personnel, and optimising operations. In essence, they ensure the smooth, safe, and efficient movement of trains.

"I love these tasks. I would certainly enjoy working as a controller," he said.

r2000.gp@gmail.com