Mumbai, December 1: Monkeys bring train services to a halt at Monkey Hill railway station near Khandala at least thrice in a month. To get rid of constant train disruptions, the Central Railways laid traps that will block monkeys from climbing Over Head Equipment (OHE) poles and tripping power lines. It installed these light-weight aluminium traps on over-head equipment poles at Monkey Hills railway station.

According to a report, the trap's circumference is large enough to allow a monkey to pass through. A barricade on top of the trap will not allow monkeys to reach the wires. Besides, there are no handles or holes on the trap; therefore simians won't find the grip to climb up. "A monkey can enter the trap but it will not be able to come out due to the barricade above," an official told TOI.

To reach Pune, trains have to manoeuvre a steep incline. The incline is so steep that another locomotive has to be attached to the rear end of the train to provide enough traction to climb over the ghat section. According to another official, monkeys hang on OHE wires, causing the power outage. These traps will stop monkeys from doing so. Traps are not heavy and hence there will be no load on the OHE mast, said the official. Monkey Menace Continues in Agra: Woman Went to Relieve Herself in Field, Attacked.

"Once a train halts on the incline, it is not possible to move it even if power is restored. Another locomotive has to be sent to be attached to the rear engine to give the push to the train," he told TOI. “The driver and the guard have to alight and meet at a middle point to match the time and then “push and pull” the front and rear engine to restart the train," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 01, 2018 06:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).