Taking serious cognisance of the disruptions on Mumbai’s suburban railway earlier this week, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said he had ordered a time-bound enquiry to identify the causes and directed officials to take remedial measures.
In a series of tweets, he said, “Disruption in Mumbai suburban yesterday has been taken up very seriously. Ordered time bound enquiry to come up with the causes. Report immediately,” Mr Prabhu tweeted. “We will explore not only reasons of disruption bt also focus on remedial measures and act swiftly. Review of monsoon preparedness is being done at the highest level. Ensuring safe commute for the people is our priority. A team from Railway Board being sent to Mumbai to monitor situation.”
Mumbai commuters had to bear disruptions on the Central Railway on Tuesday after overnight rains left some stations waterlogged. The resultant delays led to overcrowding at several suburban stations, and the lack of trains and timely announcements brought angry commuters on to the tracks at Diva station.
Moreover, on a request by the Thane Municipal Corporation, the Railways announced a mega block to carry out urgent repair work on a retaining wall on Parsik Hill near Mumbra to prevent a landslide. The mega block resulted in the blockage of fast trains. On Monday, Western Railway services were disrupted after a battery theft at Mahim power sub station, causing delays through out the day.
Mr Prabhu’s announcement of an enquiry came after Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashish Shelar met the Railway Minister in New Delhi and demanded a probe and action against railway officials for repeated disruptions on the suburban railway.
Mr Shelar urged Mr Prabhu to review the monsoon preparedness of the suburban railways to ensure the administration takes measures to resolve waterlogging and landslides, and communicates with commuters when emergency situations arise. He also requested that the railway administration complete pending repairs of platforms, roofs and bridges as soon as possible. After completing the monsoon preparedness work if more disruptions are caused, the ministry should fix responsibility on railway officials and take action, he said.
Meanwhile, on Mr. Prabhu’s directives, a team comprising Satish Kumar Pandey, Executive Director (Civil Engineer — Planning) Brajesh Kumar, Executive Director (Geo Tech) Research and Design, Ajay Goel, Chief Track Engineer, Central Railway inspected the 34-metre-long retaining wall on Parsik Hill constructed by the Thane Municipal Corporation.
The team felt the retaining wall was not designed properly. “Seven metres of the wall have been removed by the TMC during a three-hour mega block, which affected suburban train traffic. They need to remove 2.5 metres of the wall to ensure safety in the next two or three days,” a railway spokesperson said.
City BJP chief Ashish Shelar urged Prabhu to review the Railways' monsoon preparedness
