The Auxiliary Warning System (AWS) in a train entering CST station at 12.20 pm malfunctioned on Tuesday, causing the train to halt midway on platform No. 6, officials said.
Officials said this had been happening in every two rakes per day.The AWS was installed in every local train in the city almost two decades ago and is meant to stop a train the minute it goes past its approved speed as a safety measure. However, the system has its glitches and there has been no major updates since it was first introduced in the suburban
system. “Usually, the AWS system is a boon for the railway as it takes out the human error when a motorman might be entering a terminal suburban station such as CST, Khopoli, Karjat and Panvel, at high speeds, but sometimes it is too sensitive and just goes crazy like today by activating the brakes when not necessary,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Commuter Neha Bajpai (45), a housewife, who was in the train said, “The train stopped and we got down but then we heard some noise and yelling of people. I realised that almost half of the train had not entered the platform and commuters were yelling, asking the motorman to take the train further,” said Mrs Bajpai.
CR divisional railway manager Amitabh Ohja agreed that there might be a malfunction in the AWS but said it prevented accidents such as the one seen on the Western Railway (WR) when one coach of a train went past the boundary wall at Churchgate because the motorman had not reduced the speed of the train on time.
“These malfunctions are forgivable because they are fail-safe system, which means that if a signal is red it will never allow the train to go past it but even if a signal is yellow or green it might halt the train. We lose only half a minute in resetting the AWS lever and starting the train again,” said M. Ohja.
Both CR and WR have also placed a magnet at around 25 metres from the buffer at terminal stations that are linked to the AWS. The magnet is a back-up in case the AWS in the rake fails and auto activates the brakes in the approaching train if it is too fast.
