Faulty crossing is the likely cause

Mumbai: A faulty crossing point that was supposed to be fixed in April itself, may have led to the derailment of four coaches of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) to Andheri train, that saw four coaches derail and six passengers suffer injuries on Friday, according to sources. Some eyewitnesses of the incident, who reside in the slums, said the train was reversing when there was loud sound and then the coaches derailed.

A series of events unravelled at around 9 am on Friday, which eventually led to the derailment. The first signs of trouble were detected when the train could not beyond Mahim as the overhead wire was not able to provide electricity continuously. Officials were concerned that as a result, the train would come to an abrupt halt making it difficult for it to be moved from the spot. To avoid these complications, the Western Railway (WR) officials decided that the train would be reversed on to Mahim platform number 6 and then run towards Andheri again until the issue was sorted. However, while doing the same a faulty crossing point led to the coaches getting derailed.

A crossing point is one of the most crucial aspects of running a train as it allows the train to change tracks, but officials said particular crossing point has already been a contentious one and had a design flaw that needed to be fixed. An official said, “This particular crossover fell on a steep curve, which means that if it is not the same measurement as the curve on the track. The mismatch leads to what you saw happen here.”

The incident has seen infighting between the WR and the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) who had fixed the crossover.

“Back in April the MRVC handed over the crossover to the WR after the Mahim yard was re-modelled. The WR after its own inspection told the MRVC that there is a flaw in the same but still allowed the trains run with full knowledge of the repercussions,” the official said.

This internal bickering has now led to the inquiry into the incident getting even more complicated with both the WR and the MRVC claiming they had done their job.

WR divisional railway manager Mukul Jain said, “We are looking at all aspects of the incident, it’s too early to ascertain anything.”