Mumbai : It was on the face of it a case of a runaway train with the motorman not manning the controls; unless, of course, one accepts the motorman’s claim that the brakes were not working.
In a highly unusual incident, a 12-coach Bhayander fast local rammed into the buffer at the end of platform number 3 at Churchgate station on Sunday morning. The train was moving at a speed of 36 kmph when the hydraulic buffer acted literally as a speed breaker and brought the train to an abrupt halt.
Five persons sustained minor injuries as the first coach jumped onto the south-end concourse of the platform. Most of the commuters, standing and seated inside the ladies compartment adjacent to the motorman’s cabin, rushed out in panic; thankfully it was not a week day, otherwise commuters standing near the door would have been thrown out on impact. Also, there were few commuters on the platform and there was no scramble to get into the incoming train.
The motorman of the train was suspended immediately in view of the severity of the accident. So were the guard Ajay Gohil and loco inspector MG Verma. According to initial details, human error was possibly at work and motorman LS Tiwari could not control the train and bring it to a gradual halt.
“The train slows down when it streams into the station and is moving at a speed of 10 kmph or so just before it comes to a halt. But in this case the speed of the train was far in excess of what is required,” said an official from the Western Railway.
The officials have ruled out the possibility of brake failure as the train which departed from Bhayander at 9:32 am had successfully completed the journey till Marine Drive. Incidentally, the 12-coach train was relatively new and inducted into the fleet in 2012.
A senior railway official said, “Considering that no glitches were reported in the train before the accident, it appears to be a case of human error. Moreover, the train had completed four trips prior to the mishap without any hiccups being reported. ”
The speed of the train was 29 kmph as it dashed against the buffer; the speed had further diminished to 19 kmph before the train swerved towards the left and travelled a distance of five to seven meters on the platform before screeching to an abrupt halt.
Due to the impact, the wheels of the first coach were left hanging in the air; the technical gear in the lower part was also ripped apart, besides the overhead wire on the upper side.
The motorman was immediately extricated from the cabin by the railway staff on the platform and rushed to Jagjeevan Ram Hospital at Mumbai Central. Meanwhile, the other four injured commuters were rushed to GT Hospital.
An enquiry will finally determine the cause of the accident. Officials confirmed that the train had two braking systems: one of these is an electrical brake which can fail, but the automatic braking system cannot in any given circumstances.
Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of WR, Shailendra Kumar, said, “The hydraulic buffers absorbed the shock when the train hit the platform. These buffers were replaced last year itself, which reduced the impact of the accident to a great extent.” The railways suffered damage to the tune of Rs 5 crores in the accident.
