Mumbai local rams into dead end at Churchgate, 5 injured

A local train crashed into the dead end at the Churchgate station, injuring five passengers and disrupting services on the Western Railway line, on Sunday.

Following the incident, the Western Railway (WR) has launched an inquiry and suspended the motorman of the train, its guard and loco inspector.

The speeding train, coming from Bhayander, rammed into the dead end on platform number 3 of Churchgate station at about 11.20am, as the motorman failed to stop it in time. As a result, its first coach jumped onto the south-end concourse of the platform. 

Due to the impact, the wheels of the first coach were seen hanging in the air, ripping apart all technical equipment in its lower part and also the overhead wire on <g data-gr-id="26" style="display: inline; color: inherit !important; font-size: inherit !important; -webkit-background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAA+gAAAACCAYAAADLlPadAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAKklEQVRYhe3OQQEAIAgEsMM6xrMb9SQGny3B6vb7AQAAAFad7QAAAACQDAGHAlfrnYEmAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC), url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAACCAYAAACZgbYnAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAAEklEQVQImWNY/ejYfyYGBgYGABiLA1VQQvxSAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); background-size: 0px 2px, 100% 2px; background-position: 200% 100%, 0px 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat, no-repeat;">upper</g> side.

"Five passengers suffered injuries in the incident. While three of them were given first aid by the Churchgate station staff, two others, including a woman, were referred to GT Hospital for further treatment. They were later discharged," Western Railway said in a statement.

"We have launched an inquiry into the incident and the motorman of the locomotive LS Tiwari, guard Ajay Gohil and loco inspector MG Verma have been suspended in this connection," Shailendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Mumbai Division, said.

Another senior official said, "Had the hydraulic buffer positioned in the front part of the local not been there, the impact could have been disastrous as the train was speeding."

Kumar said the reason for the motorman not being able to halt the train in time is yet to be ascertained. "In order to check whether Tiwari was drunk, a breath analyser test was conducted, which proved negative. However, for further assurance, his blood sample has been collected," the DRM said.

He said the mangled coach has been removed from the track and work to restore the services has been launched as no trains could be operated from platform number 3.