In a tragic incident, a train technician died after an accident while examining a train early on Friday morning. MA Shaikh, train examiner (traction), with Central Railway, was attending to a technical fault in a Bandra-CST local train when the tragedy occurred. The incident happened around 7:10 am, said officials.
Who is Shaikh?
Shaikh is a train examiner (traction), called TXTR, in railway parlance. He was attached to the Kurla car shed and was posted at Reay Road station. His job was to attend to electrical problems in trains on the Harbour line, between Reay Road and CST. His colleagues said the 44-year-old was a very good technician, and, like most of his colleagues, used to be overworked because of the spate of electrical problems on trains plying on the harbour line.
What happened?
According to officials, the middle motor coach of the Bandra-CST train was not being able to draw power from the overhead wires and the train was stalling now and then. A technician entered the middle motor coach of the 9-coach train, which was experiencing mechanical glitches. He, however, called for a backup as he was not being able to locate the fault.
That's when Shaikh entered the picture?
Yes. Shaikh, who was on duty at Reay Road, was summoned and he entered the train at Reay Road and started working on the glitch between the two stations. "A miniature circuit breaker (MCB) was malfunctioning and after setting it right, Shaikh wanted to check if the pentograph (the device that pulls in power from overhead wires) was rising properly as it does when proper amount of power is drawn," said an official.
When did the accident happen?
When the fault was rectified and the train started moving, Shaikh leaned out to check if the pentograph was working properly. He failed to notice a pole nearby and hit it while leaning out. The impact was such that he fell between the wheels of the train and both his legs were severed.
Was there any delay in medical relief?
While there was talk in certain quarters that medical help was delayed, CR officials denied it. One official said the they lost some time as an injured Shaikh had to be first carried to Dockyard station a few hundred metres away and then to Byculla Railway hospital by a Maruti van, usually used to ferry fish. Sources said though an ambulance was called, it didn't turn up in time.
"Our records show that the incident happened around 7:10 -7:12 am and Shaikh was admitted to Byculla hospital around 7:47am, within the golden hour. Unfortunately, the blood loss was so excessive that he expired," said a railway official. Officials said the absence of an ambulance at the station would be looked into and whether the presence of an ambulance would have saved Shaikh.
What are the problems on Harbour line?
As highlighted by dna in many articles earlier, Harbour line passenger growth, at 9.22 percent, is possibly the highest for any suburban system in the country. However, the railway administration comes up short on the line, with most stations being manned by booking clerks rather than full-time station managers. The Dockyard road station doesn't have a station manager or enough personnel. It doesn't have a permanent ambulance either.
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