Mumbai: Giving out a fresh set of instructions, A.K. Gupta, general manager, Western Railways (WR) has asked all track-related issues to be sorted on a war footing. These instructions came 48 hours after the Mahim derailment incident on Friday, in which six passengers were injured. The accident involved the derailment of four coaches of an Andheri-bound train.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the WR had not taken the issue of this faulty crossing, a major flaw in the track design (after remodelling) with seriousness. As reported by The Asian Age on Sunday, the faulty crossing, which should have been repaired in April, could have led to the derailment. The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) and WR are now arguing about whose responsibility is it to rectify the flaw and are playing the blame game for not having acted in time.
The MRVC had remodelled the Mahim yard, handing over the crossing (the juncture where two tracks meet and the train changes direction on the tracks) to the WR but the former has now said that they were unhappy with the work post the derailment, said sources. An official said, “It is a classic case of passing the buck, which is why the probe by the safety commissioner is vital as it will help ascertain who is really responsible for the derailment.”
In an attempt to ensure that Friday’s incident is not repeated, these instructions are meant to make officials more vigilant in inspection and maintenance. A special emphasis has been given to fittings and safety equipments.
The instructions given out by Mr Gupta read, “Recent incident has revealed the weak area of joint (crossover) inspection and casual approach in maintenance.”
The official probe into the accident by the commissioner of railway safety will begin on Monday morning at the WR headquarters in Mumbai Central between 10 am and 7 pm.
