The highly-anticipated Netflix miniseries, The Railway Men, premiered over the weekend. The historical drama sheds light on the events of the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
Directed by Shiv Rawail and produced by YRF Entertainment, the series stars Kay Kay Menon, R. Madhavan, Divyendu Sharma and Babil Khan. It tells a fictionalized story of four men associated with the Indian Railways, whose efforts saved numerous lives on the worst night of Bhopal’s history.
With over four hour-long episodes, The Railway Men revolves around the rescue efforts made by individuals on the railway board. Check out the trailer for the Netflix series:
How did the Netflix series The Railway Men end?
When the leaked gas from the Union Carbide factory reached the Bhopal junction station, hundreds of people immediately fell sick because of it. On the other hand, the Gorakhpur-Bombay Express was also heading towards Bhopal with thousands of passengers. So it was important to inform them about the accident and then to find a way to help the suffering passengers at the station.
Iftekaar Siddiqui and Balwant Yadav realized that people outside their covered office room were dying from the effects of the gas, after which they rushed them inside. Imad Riaz also realized what was making people sick, as he had been working closely with a local journalist to expose the Union Carbide Corporation’s negligence with the MIC gas.
While Iftekaar and Imad were trying to fix the communication line, Balwant stayed back and controlled the panic-stricken crowd. Iftekaar tried to contact the Sukhi Sewaniya station to stop the Gorakhpur-Bombay Express train there but due to the unprepared communication lines, he was unable to reach them.
On the other hand, Rati Pandey firmly believed he couldn’t abandon so many people to helplessly perish in Bhopal, thus utilizing his GM special train to head towards the city. Meanwhile, Iftekaar requested the construction of a makeshift train using spare mail train carriages from the railyard so that the people at the station could board them. But when Imad tried to drive the train away, it failed due to its engine malfunction.
Do Iftekaar Siddiqui and Imad Riaz Die?
When Rati Pandey learned about the news of the failed communication effort, he checked with the higher authorities to learn about the tragic accident at Bhopal. He immediately orders the halt of the express train at Sukhi Sewaniya, but the station receives the order late.
Realizing the importance of utilizing the railway network to transport medical supplies and aid, Rati contacts the upper-level ministers through his ex-partner and Director General, Rajeshwari Janglay. Both Rati and Rajeshwari then try their best to convince the ministers. But they ordered all trains to be halted away from Bhopal.
At the end of The Railway Men, the four heroic men finally succeeded in saving passengers. The Gorakhpur-Bombay Express did arrive at the station, so Iftekaar helped passengers to get on it. Iftekaar and Balwant, both try to stop passengers from getting off at the station too. However, Iftekaar lost consciousness in the stampede and was deemed dead. Yet, the following day, during preparations for his cremation, Iftekaar suddenly regained consciousness in a fit and survived the ordeal.
Since the GM special train was also arriving, there was a possibility that both the trains were on the same railway tracks, heading towards a collision. So Imad tries to change the lines, however, due to the thick fog, he falls on some rocks and injures his head. Despite the injury, he runs to the switch motor and changes the lines right in time but loses his life. Balwant returns the money he steals and after a year from the tragedy, he meets Iftekaar and tells him that he changed his ways.
Stream The Railway Men on Netflix.