Mumbai local trains: Defective tongue rail caused derailment outside CSMT, says CR general manager

The train derailment outside Mumbais sprawling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus CSMT on May 1 was due a defective tongue rail Central Railway general manager Ram Karan Yadav said on Thursday reported news agency PTIYadav said he had ordered a study of the station yard to find a long term solution to the problem including shifting a crossover point to reduce a sharp curve of 75 degrees since this causes the tongue rail to be replaced every monthMumbai local trains The tongue rail was found to be defectiveA tongue rail also called a switch rail is attached to a running rail and is part of the mechanism that allows a train to cross over from one track to anotherWe have been replacing tongue rails every month on this crossover since it is heavily used At other locations such tongue rails are replaced every oneandhalf years This tongue rail was found to be defective Yadav told PTIYadav who visited the derailment spot outside the CSMT station this morning after two back to back derailments earlier this week assured suburban services on Harbour line will normalise on Friday as all issues at the spot have been addressed reported PTIWork will be done tonight and it services will normalise from morning The crossover point located just outside CSMT on which two derailments took place including April 29 was replaced on April 30 Yadav told PTII have asked for a study to see how it curvature can be eased the CR GM addedMumbai local trains Trains normally manoeuvre the crossover point at a speed of 30 kilometres per hourRailway officials said trains normally manoeuvre the crossover point at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour but a new limit of 10 kmph had been enforced as a precautionary measureThis led to disruption of suburban services on Habour line as it significantly slowed down the Up towards CSMT and Down away from CSMT trains there these officials added reported PTIOn Thursday services on the Harbour line were badly affected during the morning peak hours due to bunching of trainsA speed restriction of 10 kmph was imposed at the crossover point where the derailment occurred just outside the CSMT The delay of suburban services on Harbour line is as a result of it CRs chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila told PTIMumbai local trains A delay of at least 45 to 50 minutesAccording to the CR official the local trains on the route were running 25 to 30 minutes behind their usual schedule due to bunching of trains The commuters however said that there was a delay of at least 45 to 50 minutes reported PTIA commuter from Navi Mumbai told PTI The train took several long halts at the stations as well as their outer sections The situation worsened from Wadala Road station It took around an hours time for the train to reach the Masjid station from there even as there are just four stations in betweenAlthough generally I get down at CSMT today I left the train at Masjid station and hired a cab to reach my office But by the time I arrived at the office I was already late by an hour he addedAnother commuter Ramesh A told PTI he boarded the train from Vashi station and it took more than an hour to reach Cotton Green while there were no announcements on why this was soA railway official said CR has replaced the crossover point after the derailment on Monday but an empty suburban local derailed at the same spot on Wednesday afternoon while negotiating the point at 15 kmph during a trial reported PTIHence speed restriction of 10 kmph has been imposed at the crossover point he saidThe railway authorities conducted a fivehour block on Wednesday night to address the problem but the zonal railway has imposed the speed restriction as a precautionary measureHarbour line provides suburban local connectivity to Navi Mumbai and western parts of Mumbai from South Mumbai Daily about 10 lakh commuters travel on the corridorWith inputs from PTI