Uncertainty prevailed over the reasons behind the incident of two suburban local trains colliding head-on near Andheri station. Investigations are still underway to ascertain if it was a human error or a system fault.
The Western Railway stated that the commi-ssioner of railway safety (CRS) would conduct an inquiry in the incident and would submit the report in three days. A senior WR officer said, “The motormen of the Virar-bound train proceeded after he received a double yellow signal, which indicates that he can go ahead. However, another local came from the opposite direction and caused the collision. Now, it is under investigation whether there was any fault in the signalling equipment or if it was a human error.” It was also reported that there were multiple incidents of chain pulling even before there was a sign of trouble and this is being investigated as well. Sources added that both the motormen applied brakes just before the collision, thus minimising the impact.
The inquiry will now look to establish how both the trains came onto the same track and why there was no communication with the motormen of the trains. “This is a rare incident. We will now increase the distance between two trains while they are changing tracks,” said Mahesh Kumar, general manager, WR. The services on the WR returned to normalcy on Sunday.