A day in the life of a Pointsman

“Pointsman” belongs to Traffic branch of the Indian Railways. Pointsmen are posted in all the Railway stations, except Halt Stations, of the Indian Railway network and works under the lawful orders of a Station Master on duty. Pointsmen and Pointswomen play a crucial role in safe running of trains and contributes to overall efficiency of operations.
Pointsman in a station, clad in neat and clean Grey uniform, performs varieties of functions in his/her duty hours. The word Pointsman majorly indicates one of the important duties assigned to him. ‘Point’ in Railway parlance refers to the arrangements provided in the track to divert a train from one line to another and they help in guiding trains to the assigned platforms at stations and guide trains out of platform to assigned lines for further journey towards its route. The primary role of a pointsman is to ensure proper cleaning of such points in the station yard with the help of lubricants for its smooth operations.
Wherever there are points which are non-interlocked, i.e., where points are not controlled by Station Master and where points have to be physically set, the role of pointsman is even more significant.
When a train passes through a station, the Station master and pointsman keenly watch for any abnormalities in the running of the train. The station Master remains on one side of the train and the pointsman moves to other side so that both can watch over either side of the train that is passing through the station. The pointsman without blinking his eyes keenly observes the passing of the train with green flag on left hand and red flag on right hand, being the dominant hand.
As the train passes, an alert Pointsman vigilantly observes and registers abnormalities like hot axle (fire/smoke/abnormal sound), whether the wheels are rotating properly, couplings are intact, hanging parts or open doors, if any, etc. The Pointsman also ensures that the Loco Pilot and Guard are alert, if anyone travels over rooftop or clings to footboard precariously. On noticing of any abnormality in running and where the train need to be stopped immediately the pointsman raises the red flag. Where no such abnormalities is noticed the pointsman remains in his position and exchange signal called ‘All right’ signals with the crew of the passing train.
Pointsman remains focused, agile and alert throughout his duty hours. They acquire the requisite technical skills through proper on-the-job training. Many Pointsmen have nurtured their skills and become Shunting masters, Guards and Station Masters through departmental selections. Indian Railways takes pride in Pointsmen for their commendable dedication to duty in making the wheels of the Nation move relentlessly.

[@pavithrathirunavukkarasu3437]

My mother is a points man....Proud of you mummy ❤️

[@shivumystery3345]

Not point man point women salute to our mom

[@starfeastgaming3866]

Very nice

[@rajivsd69]

Congratulations

[@interiors-interiordesigns1566]

Which division????

[@kingofmyownworld123]

Points woman...🎉🎉🎉

[@reghunath19]

Each and every job in the Indian Railways is a matter of proud. Those working with the Indian Railways not only move the trains, they are moving the Nation forward. Salute to you Guys.

[@CR7_Sar]

Thanks I am a Station Master. Your words are kind

[@nagasubramanianpasupathi850]

யாருமே காட்டாத‌ காணொளி. கடுமையான வெயிலிலும் கொட்டும் மழையிலும் நீங்கள் பணி செய்தால் தான் நாங்கள் சொகுசாக வண்டியில் பயணிக்க முடியும். மிகச் சிறந்த காணொளி.வாழ்த்துக்கள்! 🙏

[@fredric9962]

Stunning Indian Railways 👍 wishes from America 🇺🇸

[@itbrothers9919]

I am proud as a pointsman❤️❤️❤️

[@chinnananal4325]

Bro ungalukku salaryevlo bro..na exam elutha poren.. Pass agiruven...points man tha first kuduthuruken...konjam sollunga bro

[@vanapallichanti8423]

Bro please tell points men job quelification

[@baviprabu2602]

இது போன்ற இரயில்வே விடியோக்கள் நிறைய போடுங்கள் மிகவும் பயனுள்ளதாக இருக்கும் நன்றி 🙏🙏🙏

[@ramarao3096]

Great work, and very responsible work and must b very careful and alert.Very efficient work. Saar, u r all great dedicated employees of Indian Railways.👍👍

[@raghunandansrinivasan773]

Thanks to all the Pointsmen and team for their commitment to safety of all of us! Our Railways have been using such mature and time tested processes and reliable communication techniques for many decades now: worth emulating by other services and Industries too. Thanks for this initiative by SR.

[@raomsr8576]

One team of workers serving for hundreds of trains and thousands of passengers. Good and appreciateable job. As a regular traveller, I wish them all success in there future life.

[@Abi_usha_thols]

🏃🏃🏃 first a bigger soulit for pointsman✋✋✋✋✋.....Very hard job but it is a our ambition means that became very easy great job Sir so nice useful vedio today's one ✋✋✋😍😍😍😍🙋🙋🙋🙋

[@prasanth.76]

Salute to all Railways employees Salute my father who served railways for 33 years Kudos to Britishers gift to us Pls encourage all rail employees and support tbem ,tbey save human lifes

[@ramamurthyms6585]

you really think the Britishers gifted this to us? they only built a handful lines we built the rest of the 10 thousand lines

[@sambangigovindarao8990]

Some duties are missing in this vedio 1. Vehicle securing ( passenger train, goods, local train ) 2. Every goods train movement connect with points man/ shunting master duty 3. signal failure time , trains run by manual work+ authority with help of points man and SM In groupD Cadre in railway most responseble and risk job ( panishments are heavy)

[@Suryakumar02]

Track maintainer job is also too risky sir..

[@lovelymani0279]

Salute to the All Pointsman, A Great HardWork👏👏

[@pradeepsabar1649]

I want to be a Pointsman 2022-23 Jai Hind 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@parthasarathysathianathan3585]

To day only after seeing this Vedio I understood how important of a Pointsman and Lever man work to run all the Trains. Really s great Job with Devotion each Technician served to the Nation like Military people . Great Salute to all the Railway Technicians👍👍🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼.

[@vinodhanagarajan8455]

Hard work of points man has been clearly explained by Prabu Anna.👏🏼👏🏼Great job & Keep rocking 👍🏻👍🏻

[@vrtech4709]

தமிழில் இது போன்ற வீடியோக்களை பார்க்க மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருக்கிறது. மேலும் நிறைய வீடியோக்களை பதிவிட வேண்டுகிறேன். நன்றி

[@sahibnagore1984]

Salute to all of our Points man 👍💐

[@siddhantk4985]

Each and every job done with honesty and hardwork must be respected . Sometimes people just book ticket and go from one destination to other But little they know about hard work goes behind their journey.

[@sudhakars1536]

Indian Railways is very proud of the hard work of so many employees behind the train which I know only today

[@gk7985]

😂

[@balu67]

Great Work with dedication... Salute to the all Railway Employees for their relentless job🙏🙏🙏

[@maheshmagi307]

Really a hard work in day & night and also rainy, winter & summer seasons... Their doing their job as well as putting their effort for passenger comfortable journey... 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@vadapallipoornakameswari6930]

Great insight to the duties of Pointsman... Being apart of this great Organisation feel elated to watch the video. Thank you S.R.

[@surelaks1]

Excellent initiative, it is indeed a matter of pride for us Indians that the Railways is doing a fantastic job of managing such a gigantic and complex network and what a critical role the pointsmen play in the smooth functioning of this network. Kudos to SR for having shared this. Jai Hind.

[@RakeshSingh-hx2cn]

Pointsman K. Prabhu explained the pointsman duty in excellent way........

[@sivaramann3730]

Thanks to your accuracy and sincerity we are getting trains on time and safe.

[@karthikeyanks5436]

My maternal grandfather & paternal grandfather both are working in Southern Railway Pointsman, Rameshwaram. I am feeling very proud.

[@karthikdathathri2565]

Very informative to understand the crucial role of pointsman and learn the processes followed by their team. Kudos to PR department of Southern Railways in bringing out such videos so that general public understand the difficulties and challenges in such jobs. Salute to all of you Sir/Madam.

[@kss7684]

Beautiful. This is a tribute to the safety handlers of our Indian Railways. Thanks for keeping the lives and property safely. Well done and we proud of you.

[@natt1948]

Splendid, awesome video on a very crucial operation of the men of action in our Indian Railways system, admire their systematic approach to their respective duties, with precise coordination. Vanakkam to all of them, Nandri for your contribution.

[@JerinGeorge]

The way he explained everything 👌🏾👏🏾

[@sridevan6838]

Good to know the work that happens in the background. Keep up the good work. Indian Railway is great!

[@prasanth.76]

Salute you all India’s Pride Southern Railway’s ❤❤❤❤❤ Salute to all staffs Officer in service and retired Bcoz of you all wonders happened.

[@ungalnanbankarthik1764]

அண்ணா இதுவரை இதுபோல் விடியோ பார்ததில்லை அருமை

[@gopalakrishnantk2852]

Great Job. A big salute to all points men

[@gplmuniyappa1982]

A great salute to these real heroes who play an important role in Indian Railways, the pride of our nation nice video

[@udayakumarjourneys2130]

Hats off to pointsman job & thanks to southern railway showing job process 👍

[@RVSP_Logs]

Great salute to all railway employees who are ensuring safety of people by doing continual improvements.. 5k reached on my like..

[@vivekev9407]

பின்னணி இசையால் இவர் பேசுவது சரியாக கேட்கவில்லை, இந்த மாதிரி அவசியமுள்ள பதிவுகளை போடும்போழுது பின்னணி இசையின் ஒலியை சிறிது குறைத்தால் நன்று. இந்த காணொளி மிகவும் பயனுள்ள தகவல் நன்றி 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@bas3995]

தங்களின் சீரிய பணி மேலும் சிறக்க நல் வாழ்த்துகள் தோழர்களே

[@prasadm2536]

Thank you for this informative video. Hat's off to those tireless pointsmen, vital cogs of rail network.

[@shashikantsingh6555]

Hardwork of our poinstmen makes my journey safe n smooth.. hats off ♥️🔥

[@abusamim]

அனைவரும் நலமோடு பணியாற்றி வாழ்க வளத்துடன்.

[@kasturirangan9955]

It is excellent points man work in Indian railways, our country proud of you

[@unnimusic007]

This whole video was very much engaging because I like railway jobs from my childhood onwords but my physical difficulties prohibited me from even getting a job in railway my all time wish was to become a loco pilot..... Am always proud of Indian railways 🙏🙏🙏

[@s.v.kumarkumar5204]

Very valuable and informative video. As a layman I got so much information. I am really proud of all of you. I wish all of them Bright success in their career. God Bless you all.

[@karthicktambaram3337]

Very valid video lot of hard work behind for comfort journey salute Indian railway our lovable southern railway

[@adammontgomery3213]

Seems like a very demanding and challenging job. Thank you for keeping us safe. Respect!

[@somashekarmunikoti5930]

Hat's off to you guys, thanks for the video

[@viralvideos5260]

Feeling very proud to be the son of Loco Pilot.Jai Hind 🇮🇳🙏🔥👌👏

[@veerasingamparaman4529]

Super.. you ensure safety of our nation.. Thanks A lot.

[@PraveenKumar-of5qb]

Ppl who are waiting in station n blaming delay will now understand the importance of this manual job which is critical n so much detailing to do to make the safety of passengers

[@Vk-vc3ed]

Very informative and useful video .....thank you sirs

[@thulasidas6062]

Hatsf, to, all, indian, railway, employees. We, r, proud, of, u. Jai, hind. Keep, it, up. ✌✌✌

[@kurubavenkateswarlu4825]

Iam from Andhra Pradesh preparing Rrc Group D ...iam coming in 2023 as a indian railways

[@mukundanvaradharajan9590]

Really proud of these behind the scenes people .

[@ushajemima855]

ரயில் ஓட்டுநர்களுக்கு இணையான பணி இவர்களின் முக்கிய பணி என்பது ரயில் போக்குவரத்துக்கு ஏற்றவாறு ரயில்களை தன் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் உள்ள பாயிண்ட் லிவர்களை இயக்குவது சிறிது கவனக்குறைவு ஏற்பட்டால் பெரிய விபத்து ஏற்படும் வாழ்த்துக்கள் சகோதரா

[@ar.pranavraj]

Learning as a railfan from SR's video👌🏻

[@ungalnanbankarthik1764]

நீங்க சொன்ன அர்தம் மமிக அருமை மீண்டும் இரயில் பற்றி விடியொ நான் மிகவும் எதிர் பார்ப்பேன்

[@nirmalanirmala7187]

Prabu points man duty is hard work and responsibilities for great job

[@santhosh7477]

Neenga prabhu wife ah sister

[@b.krishnakumarib.krishnaku6686]

Good job👏👏👍

[@treatseaweed]

Pointsman are doing the real job.

[@bhavanib4549]

Very Very. Taffetast job 🙏🙏🙏🤝👏👏

[@nanjundant834]

My father is a retired points man...🙏...I'm proud of my father...

[@essaar1956]

நடமாடும் காவல் தெய்வங்கள். கவனத்துடன் செய்ய வேண்டிய பணி. வாழ்க வளமுடன். தொடரட்டும், உங்கள் நெடிய தொண்டு.

[@udayakumarjourneys2130]

My daddy was working as points man in Whitefield good shed 👍👍👍

[@dipankardey4873]

Salute to these unsung heroes 🙏

[@viralvideos5260]

Without them no Indian railways 🙏👌🔥🇮🇳

[@DineshKumar-zj5ei]

Fantastic video. Salute to railway employee

[@p.chandrasekar3685]

very tough work i salute them

[@rajubotsa5403]

Maa annaya points man i am so happy❤❤❤

[@samirmazumdar7705]

number

[@karthikvishnu944]

Great job sir ....god bless you... going ahead

[@tauroanand8814]

Super indha Mari Ella railway jobskkum podunga 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@IrkyMan]

Thank you for your service

[@arunraj_r]

Behind every day Train Journey, lot of people hard work in it.

[@gopinathan791]

அருமை.. அருமை... அவ்வுளவு அருமை...பெரிய Train ku Safety Pin போட்டு Lock பண்ராங்க.....

[@nkannan9548]

மிகவும் அருமையான பயனுள்ள வீடியோ

[@viswanathanpv7655]

The real Heros, hats off to them,

[@jayaprakash8725]

Real heroes of indian railways

[@nkfox9200]

India's backbone A Railway Network...🚂

[@superstarstar7393]

Good work point man work hats off 🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@shyamsundarbiswas5205]

Proud being a pointsman.

[@gangadharanamirthalingam2816]

We salute you dear Pointsmen🙏

[@eshwarswaminathan3031]

Best wishes நல்லா service இருக்கிறது. தாம்பரம் டு நாகர்கோவில் ஸ்பெஷல் ரயில் தாம்பரம் டு மங்களூர் ஸ்பெஷல்

[@santhoshi3771]

SRLY ஆக்ட் அப்ரெண்டிஸ் 2008 பேட்ச் வேலை கிடைக்காமல் போராடுகிறோம். எங்களையும் நினையுங்கள் ஐயா

[@vikashranjankumar9290]

Pointsman duty is very carefully duty and most responsibility duty

[@vadivelnatesan7273]

my salute for the railway personnel. \

[@samsona7826]

Great and sincer work by Indian railways

[@baviprabu2602]

அனைவருக்கும் மனமார்ந்த நன்றிகள் 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@samynathans654]

Truly Unsung Heroes.

[@railfanmanish]

Salute to Each & every One of you

[@aronsabraham9617]

Respect all types of workers in indian railway

[@ashu_singh_railway]

My batch person 🔥🔥👍👍💯💯

[@rameshd56]

Love is ரயில்வே 😍my dream 😍

[@kabilanke5068]

great job southern railways well-done boys

[@rupaltalukdar]

My first choice is to work at Point Man & Rail. I don't know if I will get it. I love Indian Railways...❤️

[@narasimhanvarahasamy8472]

Great job hats off

[@raveendrababukondala949]

JAI HIND JAI INDIAN RAILWAYS...

[@Rajkumarigst]

Just a minute we have crossing. But behind the scenes lots of careful work done

[@rprabhusubramanian]

Excellent initiative, need little more grooming on background music.. During start of the video background music was too high and speaker was not audible.. Please use a Mike for the speaker... 20 lever cabin explanation and Career progression employed is simply superb...