Mumbai: Tracks curved a few degrees more than prescribed, thanks to sloppy work by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), led to the derailment of six coaches of the CSMT-Andheri local on Friday, an investigation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has found.
A CRS team that visited the site on Saturday afternoon measured the tracks and inspected its condition. A senior WR official said, “CRS inspected the site and found that the work is not strictly as per design. It was not unsafe otherwise the railway would not have operated trains on the line.” He added that the tracks laid by the MRVC were to be curved at eight degrees, but the degree of curvature was found to be higher. He said the yard is still being remodelled by the MRVC, and only a certain phase of the work has been completed.
Western Railway (WR) officials said the track defect would have remained unknown if the local hadn’t been reversed from the Down platform to the Up platform for the first time while sending it back to CSMT. The Andheri-bound train had to be terminated at Mahim after the overhead electrical (OHE) cables were compromised and developed a problem.
Mukul Jain, Divisional Railway Manager, WR, said, “The OHE developed a problem because somebody threw a piece of cloth over it near Bandra. It was planned to take the train back to CSMT. Normally it is sent back on the Down platform, but this time, it was sent back via the Up platform. While negotiating the crossover, the coaches derailed.”
An official, who declined to be named, said MVRC had build the new platform and extended the older one to accommodate 12-car rakes in April last year. He added the line is used only for shunting trains and empty rakes to Bandra Terminus and other stations. “As there are few movements on this line, we couldn’t find the defect earlier.”
Sushil Chandra, Commissioner, Railway Safety has placed advertisements in newspaper announcing a statutory inquiry into the derailment at Mahim on August 28 in the DRM’s office at Mumbai Central. “Members of the public and railway staff having information or knowledge about the accident and matters connected are requested to volunteer to depose before the CRS, or send the same to the CRS office,” the advertisement said.
