Thane train mishap: Overcrowding? Brushing of bags? Or did metal object do it?
MUMBAI: Railway officials are probing multiple angles to find out the cause of Monday's freak accident near Mumbra station that killed four commuters and left nine injured.
Initial indications were that the incident may have occurred when two trains crossed each other on a sharp curve.
With coaches packed to capacity, passengers standing on footboards may have been pushed or may have lost their balance due to brushing of backpacks from the opposite train.
The sharp curvature near the accident spot may have reduced the lateral gap between trains, increasing chances of contact. "It is possible bags of passengers on one train brushed against those standing precariously on the edge of the footboard on the other train," said a senior railway official.
However, CR officials said the incident did not happen on the curve but closer to the station.
By Monday evening, CR officials said they were also suspecting a metal object may have brushed against the CSMT-bound local. CR has launched a probe into scratch marks seen on the exterior of the last coach of that local.
An eyewitness was quoted by PTI as saying, "Someone from the coach ahead of ours fell off after hitting a wall or something hit our coach."
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There is also the possibility the incident was triggered by a combination of factors -- overcrowding, jostling to board or alight, and at the same time bags of passengers brushing. There is intense overcrowding on the Thane-Karjat/Kasara stretch.
Harried commuters say the daily experience of boarding or alighting itself is a fight. Railway authorities are also examining if a scuffle or sudden lurch due to braking could have contributed to the tragedy.
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