Churchgate train accident: Warning system at all four platforms in a week

Auxiliary warning system (AWS) provides advance notification of upcoming signals to the motorman via a display panel in the driving cab of the electric multiple unit (EMU). The advance notification is done through trackside electromagnets that trigger relays in the passing EMU cabs.

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Sunil Kumar Sood, General Manager, Western Railway, said, “The railway will install auxiliary warning system at all four platforms of the Churchgate station within a week. After that, this system will be introduced at stations where we have dead-ends. We have already introduced this system at CST station.’’

Stating that the “ignorance” of the motorman and the guard led to the accident, the railways have ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter by a four-member committee headed by an officer of the joint secretary-rank. The report is expected to be submitted in five days. With the restoration work taking 22 hours, the Western Railway finally realised that it might not be possible to salvage the rake. Officials estimate the loss at Rs 8 crore.

Briefing the media, Sood Monday said prima facie motorman L S Tiwary and guard Ajay Gohil had been held responsible for the incident. The two, along with the loco inspector concerned had been suspended immediately after the incident. As per the protocol, a train must slow down to 5 kmph near the halt line, which did not happen Sunday.

“Tiwary was steering the train in high speed when he entered Churchgate station. The usual speed is between 30 and 20 kmph when it enters the station. However, in this case, the speed of the local train was somewhere around 40 kmph,” Sood said.

“Though the records show that he diverted the line properly after the Marine Lines station, the train took more than a regular speed, around 40 kmph, at Churchgate station.”

In normal course, 40 kmph is the highest speed that a train takes. The motorman, in his statement, has claimed that the brakes failed, according to officials.

“Whether he could not control the brakes or the brakes failed is presently under probe. What is important is why the emergency brakes were not applied both by the motorman and the guard? The loco inspector’s job is to monitor the motorman and the guard. He was also suspended for negligence,” said Sood.

“The buffer zones are not old ones and in fact it’s the buffer that saved the situation and averted a bigger mishap,” he added.
Sood said an automatic track warning system would also be installed to check the speed of trains.

Tiwary and Gohil’s statements were taken immediately after they were rescued from the cabin, and it has now been revealed that the motorman panicked after he failed to control the speed.

The railways are also checking the time of his phone records to see if he might have attended a call at the time of applying
brakes, which could have distracted him.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com