Mumbai: A local train on Thursday morning bumped into a buffer while coming to a halt at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). No injury was reported in the incident report at around 9.55am.
“The Ambernath-CSMT local touched the buffer, but neither it nor the train was damaged. After a few minutes, the same train was dispatched for Titwala. But this type of error which is directly related to passengers safety can't be tolerated. Hence, an inquiry has been ordered to find the exact cause behind the incident,” said the Central Railway official. Prima facie, it seems a human error, he added.
What is buffer
Buffer is a device to prevent trains from going past the end of a physical section of track. If any train touches a buffer it's considered a serious accident. Train needs to stop at a designated mark before the buffer.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a motorman said, “The distance between stop marks is very less at the CSMT. Hence, the rail authorities need to rethink this problem; only penalising the motorman for such a minor error is not a solution.” The iconic railway station handles more than thousand trains daily, with a footfall of around nine lakh.
Previous incidents at CSMT
July 2019 - Local derails while moving in reverse
August 2019 - Local rams into a buffer-stop
April 2019 - Local collides into platform's dead end
December 2015 - Guard allegedly runs local, rams into buffer-stop
