Three people were found dead on railway tracks on Monday as Central Railway ’s (CR) suburban network struggled with massive disruptions that left thousands of commuters stranded for hours. A fire in a signalling room at Kanjurmarg and a separate overhead wire fault between Mulund and Thane led to the cancellation of 80 services and delays of up to 90 minutes, officials said.
Services restored and police investigate death
Later in the day, the government railway police (GRP) confirmed that two more bodies had been found on the tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli. The bodies were reportedly spotted by motormen, but the identities of the deceased had not been established till the time of going to press. In a separate incident, a foreign object fell on overhead electric cables between Mulund and Thane, causing an insulator to burst on the Down line and further disrupting services. CR has constituted an inquiry committee comprising senior officials to determine the exact cause of the fire. It was a regular trespassing-related death. The police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) and are investigating the incident.
One of the deceased, identified as Sahil Thite, 21, a resident of Mulund Colony, was hit by an AC local train at Bhandup station at 5.39 pm while attempting to cross the tracks. The chaos began around 9.30 am, when a suspected short circuit sparked a fire in a signalling relay room at Kanjurmarg, knocking out at least 24 signals. “Thite was in a hurry to get from platform 4 to platform 2, due to which he crossed the tracks and was hit by a train on platform 3.
A CR official said a sudden power surge and heat accumulation may have triggered the fire, burning cables connected to the signalling system and knocking out signals at Kanjurmarg, Bhandup and Vikhroli. We have checked the CCTV recordings,” said Pravin Padavi, senior police inspector at the Kurla Government Railway Police (GRP).
