Thane accident: GRP initiates action against railway engineers in unprecedented move

THANE: In a first, the Government Railway Police (GRP) initiated action against railway engineers following the fatal accident that killed four people on June 9 near Mumbra station in Thane.

The Railway Police registered a case against Assistant Divisional Engineer Vishal Dolas and Senior Section Engineer Samar Yadav. They have been charged with ignoring railway warnings and weakening the tracks by delaying critical repairs. Apart from the death of four people, four others were injured after falling from the crowded train. The accident occurred when the trains were passing each other on a large curve between Diva and Mumbra railway stations.

The investigation found that the incident was caused by a mistake in the repair work carried out days before the accident. Track number four near the station was replaced without proper welding. Officials say this caused the rails to become uneven and led to the accident.

It was also found that the distance between the tracks on the curves was only 4,265 mm, instead of the required 4,506 mm. The heavy rains that preceded the accident had exposed the shortcomings in the maintenance work. It was noticed that the track was waterlogged and the ballast was washed away several times in May and June. A written complaint was then made through the local municipal engineer, but the accused engineers rejected it.

Even when the repairs were not completed, the train continued to run at 75 kmph, despite the permissible speed in such conditions being 69.4 kmph. Following the accident, the GRP is reported to have faced obstacles in its investigation. Railway officials purportedly did not cooperate with the investigation team or produce relevant documents.