’RLYS not equipped to deal with accidents’

Gouri Nagjee (53) tells Hemal Ashar about the train accident at Mahim station yesterday

'RLYS not equipped to deal with accidents'

Gouri Nagjee (53) tells Hemal Ashar about the train accident at Mahim station yesterday

Every Sunday, I travel from my home in Churchgate to Vile Parle to meet my grandmother. But yesterday, the commute turned into a nightmare.

I was in the ladies' compartment, the one that adjoins the luggage compartment. I remember thinking the train was quite packed.

At 12.49 pm, I think, the train stopped at Mahim station for longer than usual. I thought it was because we had not got the green signal.

A second later, I saw debris flying everywhere. People inside the compartment screamed. Since we were still on the platform, a few girls and I got off the train.

Was it a blast?

It wasn't a bomb blast as I had thought. I saw that another train on the same track had hit our train. The motorman's carriage seemed to have caved in.

The wall of the luggage compartment was completely dented. I could not help feeling a twinge for our motorman, who I thought may not have survived this.

In five minutes, I saw men clamber into our compartment to take whatever the women may have left behind. In time, a few policemen arrived to push the bystanders back.

I may be wrong, but we are not equipped to deal with such emergencies. I did not see an ambulance in the short while that I was on the platform. But I did see bystanders climbing into the mangled luggage compartment, maybe to help people.

I still do not understand how the other train could not have seen our stationary train. How could that motorman not have braked?

My lower back is sore, so I'll visit a doctor on Monday. But this incident will not stop me from commuting by train.

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