According to Western Railway (WR) officials, an empty coach being shunted from the Lower Parel workshop to the Lower Parel yard toppled on the down slow line (towards Dadar and beyond) around 2.11 am.
Thousands of commuters had a torrid Tuesday after a coach that toppled between Lower Parel and Elphinstone stations blocked both the down and up slow lines all through the morning.
With no slow locals available during morning peak hours on Western Railway till 11 am, fast trains were packed even more than usual, while arterial roads like the Western Express Highway and SV Road witnessed snail-paced bumper-to-bumper traffic.
According to Western Railway (WR) officials, an empty coach being shunted from the Lower Parel workshop to the Lower Parel yard toppled on the down slow line (towards Dadar and beyond) around 2.11 am.
The coach fell in such a manner that an edge of the coach was dangerously close to the up (towards Churchgate) slow line, which meant that due to safety concerns, even this line was closed for traffic. More than 100 suburban services were cancelled and several more ran late.
While WR officials are inquiring into the incident, officials told dna that, prima facie, it looked as if the buffer of the coach on the western side hit some infringement close to the tracks. It was part of a 19-coach rake that was being taken back from the workshop after a round of maintenance.
Commuter-speak
What a nightmare!
Arpita Vankani, finance professional, working at Lower Parel
"I generally reach Kandivli station around 7.40 am and board a slow train around 7.45 am and reach Lower Parel in 45 minutes. Today was a nightmare. There was chaos all around. I caught a fast train around the same time and it halted every 2-3 minutes. It was very crowded, with many women on the footboard. The train reached Dadar around 10 am. From there, our office arranged a road drop for us. It is so unfortunate that a city like Mumbai has no alternative to the suburban system. If the system doesn't work, the city just folds up."
The fall and the rise
2.10 am: Coach derails and capsizes on down slow line at Lower Parel yard
2.10 am: Self-Propelled Accident Relief Train (SPART) called in to start restoration
2.40 am: Heavy-duty Virat rail-crane called in from Kurla
4 am: Crane leaves Kurla
5.30 am: Crane reaches Dadar and reach the site some time later
9 am- Coach set upright (rerailed)
10.27 am: Engineering department gives all-clear to up (south-bound) track
10.50 am: First up line local passes
11.10 am: Engineering department gives all-clear to down (north-bound) line
11.22 am: First local, Churchgate-Bhayander, passes. Both lines restored
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