Second derailment of the week at CSMT was happened because of defective toung rail. "During investigations, officials from CR identified the tongue rail at the point of derailment as defective" said Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief public relations officer of CR. The tongue rail, a crucial component responsible for guiding trains onto the correct tracks, was found to be faulty, leading to concerns about the safety of train operations in the area.On Wednesday two wheels of a empty rake were derailed near platform number two of the CSMT.
This is the same point where a local train was derailed on Monday also.To address the situation, the General Manager RK Yadav along with principal heads of development, personally inspected the derailment site on Thursday. They instructed all concerned officials to expedite corrective measures to ensure the safety and reliability of train services.
Ram Karan Yadav, the General Manager of Central Railway, conducted an inspection at the derailment site on Thursday around 11 am with official concerned; Check Photos
FPJ
FPJ
FPJ
Additionally, a thorough inquiry has been initiated to determine responsibility for the oversight, focusing on the inspection protocols and timelines.
However according to sources role of maintenance staff is doubtful. "Day before Monday derailment point was attended by the CRs track repair and maintenance department besides of that local trains was derailed. After that CR officials again repair the track besides of that on Wednesday an empty local was again derailed at the same point, raising questions on the repair and maintenance procedure " said an official who didn't want to be quoted."This recent spate of derailments underscores the critical need for proactive maintenance and vigilant inspection protocols within the railway network" said a passenger activist.However an official of CR said, the point where both derailment happened is located on sharp curvature , due to this , point is sensitive, before covid similar derailment was also occurred.
Harbour line local trains were running late on Thursday
The derailment, involving an empty local train on Wednesday, resulted in delays and cancellations, causing inconvenience to thousands of daily passengers of harbour on Thursday too.Central Railway (CR) attributed the disruption to the imposition of a speed restriction of 10 kmph at the crossover point near CSMT, where two derailments occurred within a span of three days. An official from CR explained that the speed restriction was necessitated by safety concerns arising from the recent derailments"A speed restriction of 10 kmph was imposed at the crossover point where the derailment occurred just outside the CSMT.
The delay of suburban services on Harbour line is as a result of it," said an official of CR. According to the CR official, the local trains on the harbour line were running up to 30 minutes behind their usual schedule due to bunching of trains. However commuters said train were was at least 40 to 45 minutes' behind the shedule and several trains were cancelled too.
A commuter from Navi Mumbai said, "The train took several long halts at the stations as well as their outer sections. The situation worsened from the Wadala Road station. It took around an hour's time for the train to reach the Masjid station from there even as there are just four stations in between. Although generally I get down at CSMT, today I left the train at Masjid station and hired a cab to reach my office. But by the time I arrived at the office, I was already late by an hour."
Another commuter Subhas Chavan said, "I caught the train from Vashi station over an hour ago, but I have just reached Cotton Green station. From Mankhurd station, the train started moving at a snail's pace and there is no announcement about why trains are running late."A railway official said the CR has replaced the crossover point after the derailment on Monday. But an empty suburban local derailed at the same spot on Wednesday afternoon while negotiating the point at 15 kmph during a trial. Hence, speed restriction of 10 kmph has been again imposed at the crossover point on Wednesday.The railway authorities conducted a five-hour block on Wednesday night to address the problem, but the zonal railway has imposed the speed restriction of 10 kmph as a precautionary measure.Harbour line provides suburban local connectivity to Navi Mumbai and western parts of Mumbai from South Mumbai. Daily about 10 lakh commuters travel on the corridor.
Harbour line services will rum as per schedule from Friday -CR
According to CR, harbour line suburban services in Mumbai are set to return to normalcy starting Friday. The Central Railway (CR) has announced on Thursday that trains will run as per schedule from Friday following the resolution of issues that led to delays and cancellations. "Repair work almost completed, remaining work will be completed in the night, from Friday morning speed restrictions of 10 kmph will be removed and harbour line services will run as per schedule" said spokesperson of CR.The disruptions stemmed from a derailment incident near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), where an empty local train derailed earlier in the week. This incident, coupled with subsequent safety concerns, prompted the imposition of speed restrictions at the point.
Allegations of Misleading Data Raise Concerns in Central Railway's Mumbai Division
A motorman from Central Railway's Mumbai division has raised serious concerns regarding the accuracy of maintenance records within the railway's centralised system. In a letter addressed to the General Manager on April 22th, the motorman alleged that crucial defects were being misrepresented as attended to in the database, while in reality, they remained unaddressed.The letter highlighted a specific incident on the harbour line tracks, where the motorman reported a disturbance between Belapur and Seawoods stations while operating a Panvel local train on April 13th.
Despite updating the system accordingly, maintenance staff quickly responded, claiming to find no anomalies upon inspection, allowing trains to resume normal speed. However, subsequent actions, including the installation of a new four-meter track section with a cautionary order to slow down trains, contradicted the initial assessment.
The said motorman stated in the letter that, such practices of falsifying feedback and information in the database were widespread. Urging the implementation of strict protocols for data entry, the motorman highlighted the potential risks associated with misleading maintenance records. FPJ has the copy of letter.
Railway officials have acknowledged the complaint and stated they are investigating the matter. However, they clarified that the allegations of misleading data are distinct from recent derailments, emphasizing that the second derailment occurred during the repair process of the first incident.
