Title - Panic as 2 trains on same track WR Denies ‘Near Mishap’ At Bhayander

Was it a ‘near mishap’ or an almost repeat of the June 16 incident when two Western Railway (WR) suburban trainscollided near Andheri? Senior officials rubbished reports of a collision being averted atBhayander between a Virar-bound local and a rake being shunted with seven bogies to the yard at 1.42pm.
    Sources said the Virar local was stopped for nearly half an hour, which impacted the frequency of trainson thesuburban section.
    WR chief public relations officer Sharat Chandrayan said there was nothing to panic. “It was a normal shunting of a few bogies. The train was being shuntedwiththehelp of a locomotive to another track. Since there was a Virar train on the same track, preference was given for the shunting of the train.” He said the Virar train was stopped for 10 minutes till the shunting was over. “There is no question of the Virar local almost ramming into the other train. These are rumours,” he stated.
    But sources said the motorman of the Virar local applied the brakes on time. Senior railway officials said there was no mishap or ‘near mishap’. “It was a routine operation. We need to ensure the trackisclear before allowing a train to pass,” another official said. “Officials realized that during shunting,thetrain was being diverted to another track, so another oncoming train on that track was stopped in time,” he stated.
    Reports of a ‘near mishap’ led to panic among commuters. Passengers at Bhayander station created a ruckus outsidethestationmaster’soffice, demanding an explanation. Some were on the local which was halted for about 35 minutes. Commuters stranded in the Virar train, which was halted near the level-crossing atBhayander,began toscream and shout slogans.
    Sources said station officials ordered the locomotive back to the yard and allowed the Virar local to pass. As soon as the local reached Bhayander station, commuters charged towards the stationmaster’s office, but railway security personnel intervened. CR suspends DC/AC conversion C entral Railway (CR) has ordered a detailed audit and temporarily suspended DC to AC conversion on the suburban section as it has witnessed double the number of OHE failures compared to last year. CR also saw an increase this year in ‘unit defects’, which affected services on the Main line and led to delays on some days. CR general manager Subodh Jain said there were 11 OHE failures in June, compared to six the same month last year. “I have taken cognizance of the problem and ordered an independent team to conduct an audit. This team will conduct a detailed probe and provide solutions to ensure that failures are minimized,” he stated. He said unit defects were rampant in five retrofitted AC/DC rakes. “These rakes were 10 times more prone to failure than the normal DC rakes,” he said. TNN June 16 incident T en commuters were hurt after two coaches of a Borivli-bound fast train collided with a Churchgate-bound fast train between Andheri and Jogeshwari on June 16. The Borivli train left platform 4 at Andheri and halted midway, owing to ‘brake failure’. The Churchgate local was crossing from the fast line to the slow line and hit the buffer of the stalled train.