When tree branches fell onto the tracks between Bhayander and Naigaon stations on Monday morning, Western Railway motorman BMK Rao, who was driving his Virar slow local, slammed the brakes and brought the train full of passengers to a safe halt. He then got down, accompanied by a few passengers, cleared the tracks, checked the safety and proceeded on his journey, keeping Mumbai’s lifeline operational. Rao has been serving the railways for the past 30 years, and the monsoon, he says, is a challenging time.

Despite the heavy rain over the past week, trains on Western and Central Railway slowed down but did not stop operations. mid-day got inside the driving cab of a local train to interview Rao on how railway motormen judge “safe to proceed” waterlogged tracks and what they want passengers to know?