CR Seeks Report On Flash Strike That Leftover 2 Passenger Deaths
Mumbai: Central Railway (CR) on Friday sought a detailed report from the Mumbai Division following a sudden protest by employees at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) over disruption of suburban train services, leading to the death of two passengers near Sandhurst Road railway station. According to CR officials, the report is expected within a week.
The strike follows an FIR filed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) against two CR engineers in connection with the Mumbra train tragedy on June 9. In protest against the FIR, railway unions launched an unannounced strike at CSMT on Thursday evening, halting suburban train operations during peak hours between 5.50 pm and 6.40 pm.
The sudden stop left thousands of passengers stranded on the platforms.
CR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Swapnil Nila said employees at CSMT were preventing drivers and train managers from operating the services. “As a result, many passengers were stranded on the platforms,” he said.
Five passengers were reportedly walking along the tracks near Sandhurst Road during the outage. “Two of them – a man and a woman – died after being hit by the train. Two other women were also injured and are receiving treatment,” Mr Nila said.
Sources said the victims were walking on the tracks when a train approached from behind and were unable to move in time due to poor visibility.
Mr Nila added that CR had prepared a report on the sudden attack. “According to this report, action will be taken against those responsible for the outage,” he said.
Meanwhile, Upanagariya Railway Pravasi Ekata Sanstha (Federation of Suburban Rail Passengers Association) has written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting a retired judge to initiate a judicial inquiry into the Mumbra incident.
The FIR was filed against the two engineers following findings by the Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology (VJTI), which stated that rail fractures could lead to derailments. However, CR officials said that the entire VJTI report has not been shared with them yet.
When asked whether the unions had given advance notice of the protest, Mr. Nila said they had only informed the authorities about the plan to submit a memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) seeking withdrawal of the FIR.
