Mumbra train tragedy: ‘Mumbra incident remains a mystery’

Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Dr Swapnil Nila

Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO) Dr Swapnil Nila, in an interview with mid-day on Thursday, said that the cause of the Mumbra incident remains a mystery and that the railways have immediately expedited the plan to convert suburban services on the main line to 15-car, boosting the capacity by 25 per cent.

Four persons were killed and nine others injured on Monday morning after falling from an overpacked CSTM-bound local train during peak rush hour between Mumbra and Diva railway stations.

What really happened?
There is no clarity so far. The cause remains a mystery, and we are examining all aspects. A five-member committee has been formed with a mandate to find out exactly what went wrong that made eight people fall at one go.

What did eyewitnesses and the injured say?
All that the victims remember is something hitting them. Many fell inside the train, too. A few said they felt something hit them.

Was it the curve? Was something wrong with the coach that it swayed out of the way? There are some scratch markings on the coach, too.
We examined the coach, and there are no dents, but only brush marks that look like those made from an office goer's bag. The curve and the distance between the two tracks are also fine. We have got everything checked again, and there seems to be no problem. The committee is investigating the matter now.

How are we addressing this? The crowds are increasing, and we need out-of-the-box thinking.
More than the overall crowds, it is the new pockets that have the highest crowd volume. Places like Badlapur, Ambarnath, Karjat and Asangaon have witnessed exponential growth, and we are working on plans to ease the rush in these growth centres.

What is the plan of action?
We have expedited the plan of converting local trains on the main line to 15-car. There are certain constraints that we are addressing, but it looks like a doable plan, and we shall achieve it. We cannot give a timeline for it immediately, but work has started.

What about closed-door local trains?
There was an announcement by the railway board, and they are actively looking at working on closed-door trains, and the design will be finalised soon.