The story of Bhopal’s railway men is a mirror to modern corporate safety failures. The Union Carbide plant had ignored safety protocols for months. The Indian government had ignored early warning signs. But the railway men had no protocols for a gas attack. They improvised. They used empathy when there was no rulebook.

The then-General Manager of the Central Railway Zone, Shri. S. K. Bhalla, played a crucial role in coordinating the evacuation efforts. He worked closely with the state administration, plant authorities, and railway staff to ensure that the evacuation was carried out smoothly.