MUMBAI: "Meri aankhon ke saamne maut
dekha," a shaken L Tiwari told Western Railway officials yesterday,
describing the moments when he realised that the train he was piloting was
running out of track, hurtling, at high speed, towards platform no 3 of Churchgate
station.
In the harrowing seconds that followed, more than half of the ladies' coach of
the flying local as the galloping train was dubbed by people inside it even
before the crash literally flew off the tracks and came to rest on the
platform, giving commuters the shock of their lives. Thankfully, no one was
seriously injured.
Buffer
The accident happened around
11.20 am yesterday, when the Bhayander-Churchgate fast local entered the
station premises at a speed of nearly 30 kmph, according to sources, who added
that by the time the motorman, L Tiwari, began applying the brakes, it was too
late.
The train overshot the tracks and rammed into the buffer a spring-like system
designed to prevent injuries and keep trains from going beyond the end of a
section of track. "The train had stopped several times between the Marine
Lines and Churchgate stations.
However, when it began moving towards Churchgate the last time, it was at quite
a high speed," said a Western Railway official, on condition of anonymity.
In fact, when mid-day spoke to commuters, they claimed that this train was
'flying', especially on the Borivli-Andheri stretch, where trains usually run
slowly on Sundays, when a mega block is in effect.
Sources said trains are allowed to enter Churchgate station at 30 kmph, but the
speed needs to be controlled by the motorman. In this case, prima facie, Tiwari
couldn't apply brakes on time. "Only a year ago or so, we had replaced the
old hydraulic buffers in Churchgate station with new ones.
This proved useful today (Sunday) as even though the buffer broke, it absorbed
much of the force of the collision," said a WR official. The official
claimed that had the old buffers which had rusted by the time they had been
replaced still been in place, the damage, both to the train and in terms of
injuries to those inside it, could have been much worse "The train would
have simply broken the buffer, causing more damage to the rake, the station and
commuters," he said.
'Brakes
weren't working'
Tiwari told railway authorities that the brakes did not function properly when
the train was entering the station. "I tried to apply the brakes, but the
train barely slowed down. Meri aankhon ke saamne maut dekha," Tiwari told
WR officials. More than 5 metres of the train went up in the air and climbed
atop the platform because of the impact.
There are two types of brakes in pure AC rakes (which run purely on 25000-volt
alternating current) like the one involved in the accident. One of the brakes
is electro-pneumatic, which is usually used by motormen because it slows down
the train smoothly. Tiwari claimed that this brake didn't work.
The other brake is mechanical and passengers experience jerks when it is
applied. Tiwari told officials that by the time he applied the mechanical
brake, it was already too late. WR officials, however, said that the train had
been halting just fine all the way from Bhayander.
In fact, the train slowed down due to a signal even after it crossed the Marine
Lines station, before taking off for Churchgate. Moreover, they said, there was
a mega block between Mumbai Central and Dadar on the fast line and the train
had to halt several times on that stretch.
Suspended
"On the basis of preliminary inquiry, we have suspended the motorman,
guard and loco inspector. It seems that there has been human error in this
case," said SK Sood, General Manager, Western Railway.
Officials said the train's guard, A Gohil, could have also applied the brakes
when he realised that the train's speed was higher than it should have been
while entering the station and that he was suspended for his failure to do so.
Loco Inspector M Verma was also suspended. Officials said each loco inspector
is in charge of a batch of 25-30 motormen and guards and it is his job to
ensure they work properly.NEW
DELHI: An inquiry has been ordered into the
"freak accident at Churchgate" on Sunday where a local Mumbai train
crashed into a platform, leaving five people injured, said Railways Minister
Suresh Prabhu today.
Local
trains on the Western Line were disrupted for several hours after the accident
at 11:20 am.
Three
people including a guard who was assigned to the train have been suspended,
said railway officials.
The
speeding train rammed into the end of platform number 3 of Churchgate
station.
The
wheels of the first coach were seen hanging in the air.
Comments
Post a Comment