Mumbra probe: Man with bag may've slipped, hit opp train's footboard travellers

Time of India

4 days ago

Mumbai: The fall of eight commuters from two fast trains at Mumbra on June 9 may have been triggered by a footboard traveller with a shoulder bag losing balance, according to preliminary findings of an investigation being carried out by a five-member team set up by Central Railway.
Five of the passengers died, reports Manthan K Mehta.
It occurred around 9 am when a Kasara–CSMT train and a CSMT–Karjat local passed each other near signal posts at nearly 75 kmph.
Investigators reconstructed the sequence using CCTV footage from earlier stations. Sources said the commuter, who was on the footboard of the second last coach of the Karjat-bound train, appeared to lose balance, possibly due to a shift in position while adjusting or holding onto his bag.
This loss of balance led to a fellow passenger falling with him. Both then reportedly collided with commuters on the oncoming local, resulting in some of them falling off.
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The distance between two crossing local trains is just 0.75 m or 2.46 ft, which offers little room for misjudgment, especially for footboard travellers.
The June 9 Mumbra tragedy may have been triggered by accidental fall of some travelling footboard even on a train that was not crowded, according to preliminary findings of an investigation by Central Railway.
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It occurred at around 9 am near signal posts 40/405 and 40/401, during the simultaneous movement of two fast suburban locals: train no. N-10 (Kasara–CSMT) heading up on the Thane line, and train no. S-11 (CSMT–Karjat) on the opposite track. "The incident occurred in the train heading in the non-peak direction, which is usually less crowded. But CCTV footage from earlier stations reveals it wasn't empty as one might assume," a senior CR official said.
The trains crossed each other at speeds nearing 75 kmph. "At that velocity, even a minor loss of balance can be fatal, as the body is thrust outward and may strike against the train on the adjacent track," an official added.
Investigators, working with limited visual evidence, reconstructed the sequence of happenings using CCTV footage from earlier stations. All eight victims were reportedly standing on the footboard when they lost balance.
Five of them died, while three others sustained injuries, some inside one of the coaches.
While the five-member panel of CR officers is probing technical and human factors behind the incident, a parallel investigation has been launched by Mumbai railway police under an assistant commissioner of police with a 10-member team. The absence of CCTV coverage at the site of the incident, coupled with inconsistent survivor testimonies, has made the task complex.
In order to gather more information, CR had issued a public appeal from June 15 to 17, inviting eyewitnesses to come forward.
The response, was poor: only five people reached out, and none could provide direct insight into the critical moment of the accident. "Most inputs were general comments on crowding. No one could describe the actual fall," a CR official said.