A major accident was averted on Monday night after alert railway staff switched off power, and drivers of the Bhagalpur Mumbai Express stopped the speeding train in time after spotting a tree that had fallen on the tracks near Parsik tunnel.

“It was at 8.46pm that an RPF official informed the station master at Thane and also RPF Control Room regarding the fallen tree between Thane and Parsik on the fifth line. Acting swiftly, our staff swung into action to switch off power for safety reasons at 8.48pm. Meanwhile, Murlidhar Sharma, the loco pilot of the speeding Bhagalpur Kurla LTT train  approaching the site also spotted the fallen tree and braked hard,” Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said.