Commuters on the Western Line faced a harrowing time during peak hours on Tuesday morning after an empty local train derailed at Lower Parel, blocking two slow corridors.
The derailment affected suburban services on the two slow corridors between Bandra and Churchgate. Western Railway cancelled over 100 services. The incident took place when the empty train was being moved to the Lower Parel car shed at 2.15 a.m., Western Railway officials said. No casualties were reported.
The track was cleared for normal operations by 11.10 a.m. with the help of a relief train. Railway officials had to divert the slow trains on fast corridors. BEST deployed extra buses between Mahim and Churchgate stations. However, despite these efforts, commuters faced a tough time due to overcrowding.
Discussing the protocol in such cases, Ravindra Bhatkar, Chief P.R.O., Western Railway, said: “The control room informs the motormen and the rest of the staff when such a thing happens. The message is relayed to the Divisional Railway Manager, and the whole department starts working towards relief operations.
The commuters are informed by our [Western Railway] twitter handle, and announcements are made on station platforms.”
Shailesh Gupta, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway, told the The Hindu: “Almost 10 per cent of the total 1,300 services were affected. A formal investigation is yet to begin. Before launching any enquiry, we take a lot of things into consideration. The measurement of tracks, the coach, as well as human and other external factors that may have contributed to the mishap.”
Gupta said, “As of now, the cause is speculated to be buffer entanglement, but there was obviously something that led to it; it does not happen on its own. Whether it’s a human factor or a technical issue can only be established after the investigation has concluded.”
The Railways is in the process of setting up committee consisting senior officers to investigate the cause of derailment. The committee is expected to submit its report within 10 days, officials said.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
