CR driven by freak accidents

The Central Railway has appointed a special commission consisting of heads of various in-house departments to carry out an enquiry on therecent spate of accidents on the line over the past week.

On Friday, on the second platform at Nahur station, 23 year-old Sagar More was hanging from the door of a CST-bound local, when another passenger, 22 year-old Shyamsundar leaning out of a passing Thane-bound fast local, collided with him. Both passengers fell off the train and were in a critical condition when they were rushed to a nearby hospital.u00a0

Stranded passengers on the central railway line. pic /Atul Kamble.

SS Dhumal, senior police inspector at Kurla police station, said, "Both boys have sustained serious head injuries that are being treated at Wockhardt Hospital, Mulund. The incident took place at Nahur platform towards the Mulund end."

In a separate incident on Friday, the first-class ladies compartment of an Ambernath-bound train was stoned at Nahur station, reported a GRP official. Nobody was hurt and the passengers did not want to file a complaint, though officials are looking into the matter.

The same evening, a passenger travelling illegally on the rooftop of a train was electrocuted between Matunga and Mahim stations. He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

After the cabin fire at Kurla station on Wednesday that left thousands of Central Railway passengers in disarray, a rumour surfaced about another fire at Kurla. But GRP officials traced the cause of the fire to a gas leak in a railway kitchen. The fire was contained and nobody was hurt.

On Thursday, three people were killed and 34 others injured between Mulund and Nahur after colliding with a faulty signal pole. Apparently a screw on the pole came undone on an inspection platform of a signal pole, causing it to jut out. People hit the exposed portion and fell out of moving trains.

Vidyadhar Malegaokar, chief PRO Central Railways said, "A commission is looking into the incidents. The HODs will suggest solutions, which we will then implement. The first meeting to discuss the issue will be held on April 24. Services on the central line are almost back to normal. As for accidents such as electrocution and crossing of tracks, that wasn't because of railway negligence."u00a0