Railway seeks new definition of an accident

Nov 18 2014 : Mirror (Mumbai) Yogesh Sadhwani TWEETS @yogeshsadhwani   Monika More's fall an accident or a consequence of carelessness? Three city MPs oppose an amendment to the Railways Act that will make it near impossible for victims to seek compensation Mumbai's parliamentarians have strongly objected to an amend ment proposed by the Centre in the Railways Act, which will make it virtually impossible for rail accident victims to get compensation.The proposed amendment seeks to change the meaning of an “accidental fall,“ besides putting the onus on the victim to prove that the accident was not a consequence of their “misadventures, carelessness, or negligence.“ If it passes, the amendment will have a huge impact on Mumbai, which has the largest suburban rail network in the country that ferries 7 million passengers daily and witnesses on an average 11 deaths a day. The amended Bill, introduced by the then Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda in the Lok Sabha for discussion on August 7, clearly states that passengers boarding or alighting moving trains or travelling on footboards should not be considered for compensation. Under the current Act, anyone who suffers an injury or dies in a rail accident is awarded compensation between Rs 80,000 to Rs 4 lakh by the Railway Tribunal. MPs from Mumbai are unhappy with the amendment, which provides for compensation for accidental falling of any passenger from a train but does not include “a passenger falling from a train while entering or leaving or attempting to enter or leave any carriage while the train is in motion... or while standing near the door or opens the door of any carriage while the train is in motion.“ Speaking to Mirror, MPs Kirit Somaiya, Gopal Shetty and Arvind Sawant said they have opposed the amendment on the floor of the house and will also oppose it in front of the parliamentary committee that is studying it. Besides these three MPs, several other elected representatives and activists have started writing to the committee hoping that their voices will prevail and the amendment would be withdrawn. The proposal adds that “most of the cases of `the accidental falling' arising out of falling down from train are because of negligence, carelessness and misadventure on the part of the passengers while entraining and detraining a moving train knowing that any accident may take place. However, railways are being made liable to pay compensation even when there is no fault on the part of railway.“ While the Bill is still with the Parliamentary Committee on Railway Act Amendment 2014, several activists and MPs have come out strongly opposing it. Advocate VS Chaugule, president of the Railway Accidents Victims' Association and also a practicing lawyer for past three decades at the railway tribunal said, “More than 95 per cent of the cases that come to the tribunal will get thrown out if the Bill comes through. The situation in suburban trains in Mumbai is different from other cities.Here trains are crowded and everybody is in a hurry to get to work. In the past, the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court have looked at this issue and ruled that such cases should get compensation. The only logic behind the Bill is to save money. We have made representations to Committee and other MPs to oppose the Bill.“ Kirit Somaiya, MP from Mumbai North East, besides raising concerns over the Bill added that victims should, in fact, be compensated faster. “Now that the Bill is with the Committee, I will make representations there to ensure that the amendment is not brought,“ said Somaiya, who has fought to get compensation for several accident victims. “If anything, there is a crying need to increase compensation and ensuring that it reaches the victim even when she is undergoing treatment. Most victims, for want of funds, end up losing out on proposer treatment after the accident.“ Arvind Sawant, MP from Mumbai South, too opposed the bill on the floor of the house.Saying he will oppose it in front of the committee also, Sawant said Mumbai is a strong case for why the amendment should not pass. “People are always in a hurry to get to work or home,“ said Sawant. “To earn their livelihood they travel by trains and end up getting hurt or even die. The amendment is certainly not acceptable.“ Echoing the views of the above two, Gopal Shetty, MP from Mumbai North, said the suburban rail network should be beefed up before even thinking of something like this. “Commuters in Mumbai risk their lives to get on to crowded suburban trains to get to work. While doing so if they are hurt, how can they be denied compensation?“

Passenger en route to funeral turns saviour for 3-year-old

Jyoti Punwani mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 

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    Humanity is a strange thing. Once you realise your life has been saved, you want to save others, see them live.” Thus said Farooq Mapkar, a passenger of the ill-fated Diva-Sawantwadi passenger train, which derailed last Sunday morning. 
    Mapkar, 47, was going to his village in Chiplun and was lucky to escape with minor bruises. But all around him there were passengers trapped under others, or under parts of the broken train. 
    Mapkar could have simply picked himself up and walked away. Instead, he stayed on to see how he could help, and that led him to rescue three-yearold Samruddhi Nakti, and get her admitted to hospital with help from three good Samaritans, including the drivers of an autorickshaw and a six-seater who charged him no fare. That she would lose her leg later, was a tragedy he wasn’t to know then. 
    In the midst of the chaos that followed the accident between Nagothane and Roha on Sunday, Mapkar heard Samruddhi’s father repeatedly crying out: ‘Save my daughter’. “The father was crushed under someone else’s weight, but I found his daughter and managed to extricate her,” Mapkar said. Having gingerly puller her out from the train, Farooq loosely tied her leg which had broken, and then set off to find help. A family in a Maruti car stopped when he flagged them down, got off and allowed their driver to take Mapkar and the girl to the nearest station, Nagothane. 
    From there, Mapkar found a six-seater whose driver took him and the girl to Roha bus stand. There, an auto driver took him to the nearest private hospital in Roha. 
    “The doctor there immediately attended to her, but it was obvious he didn’t have all the facilities he needed,” said Mapkar. By then, more patients began to arrive, and the doctor requested Mapkar to take two other patients too in a charitable Shiv Sena ambulance to the nearest government hospital in Alibag. 
    “Mywallethadfallenoffsomewhereintheaccident, I had neither money nor my ticket with me,” said Mapkar. The doctor offered him Rs 2,000, which Mapkar refused. He then took Samruddhi, and the other two patients, a teenage girl and man named Chavan, to the Civil Hospital in Alibag. Chavan, however, did not make it. 
    But it was three-year-old Samruddhi’s courage that amazed Mapkar. “She must have been in great pain, but she uttered not a word. She sat on my lap quietly, giving me no trouble,” Mapkar said. He stayed with her till she was admitted to the Alibag hospital, and then left for his home. Ironically, he had been heading to his uncle’s funeral, but ended up saving others. 
    Samruddhi was later transferred to Sion hospital, where her leg had to be amputated. Her father has also been admitted there, but doesn’t know of the tragedy that has befallen his daughter, nor does he know his wife died in the mishap. Samruddhi's elder sister is undergoing treatment in a Vashi hospital. 
    Mapkar discounts the theory that a defect in the trackcausedtheaccident.Accordingtohim,theDiwa-Sawantwadi passenger is always late and always packed. It also has to make way for an express train that follows. Hence the Diwa-Sawantwadi loco pilots tend to drive at breakneck speed to make up for lost time. “If the Railways ensure that the passenger train runs on time, such mishaps wouldn’t occur,” Mapkar said. He also feels that the Railways should not insist on accident victims producing their ticketstoclaimcompensation,asticketscangetlostina mishap, as his did. 
    Incidentally, Mapkar had cheated death once before — in the 1992-93 post-Babri Masjid demolitionriots.Hewasshotintheshoulderfromtheback as he knelt to pray in Wadala’s Hari Masjid on January10, 1993. Six persons died in the police firing that day, four of them inside the mosque. Justice B N Srikrishna recommended strict action against then Assistant Sub-Inspector Nikhil Kapse, but the government refused to act. Mapkar successfully petitioned a court to order a CBI inquiry, but the CBI too exonerated Kapse. Mapkar has challenged that finding.

Mapkar took Samruddhi to hospital. That she lost leg later was a tragedy he wasn’t to know then

Railways not keen on getting back Matheran’s first ever locomotive

Rajendra B Aklekar @timesgroup.com TWEETS @rajtoday  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2014/04/15&PageLabel=10&EntityId=Ar01002&ViewMode=HTML     The Indian Railways on Monday said they are not interested in buying one of the first four original steam locomotives of the heritage Matheran Light Railway (MLR) which have been put up on sale by the Railworld Museum at Peterborough, UK. The MLR 740 has been in the museum for the past thirty years.      On April 10, Mirror had reported that the present-day generation of Sir AdamjeePeerbhoy,whobuilttheNeral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, wanted the railways and the government to bring back an original locomotivethatoperatedontheMLR.      “We will not be interested in buying the engine as we already several of a similar type here,” Subodh Jain, railway board member (engineering), told Mumbai Mirror.      The present-day generation of the Peerbhoy family was not happy with the railways’ decision. “First of all, the locomotive should not have gone out of India. But now that it is up for sale, it needs to be brought back by the railways,” said Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, the second great grandson of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy.      “The locos had been bought by the Peerbhoy family, how could the Indian Railways give it out to another country? If I remember correctly, the engine had been put up on display outside CST, then one day it was removed,” Ali Akbar added.      The MLR 740 was donated to Britain by the Indian government in 1985 in recognition of services towards the establishment of India’s National Railway Museum. The engine was acquired by the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum and arrived in UK on November 28, 1986. It was donated to Railworld Museum in 1991.      Sources said the four novel steam locomotives had been bought specially for the mountainous stretch from Messrs. Orienstein & Koppel, Germany, in 1907. They were made especially for the narrow curves and steep climbs of the Matheran hills.      Of the original four engines – MLR 738, MLR 739, MLR 740, MLR 741 --that survive today, MLR 740 has been in the UK for the last three decades. The Railworld Museum said that the locomotive will be sold to someone with the resources and commitment to restore and operate the Berlin-built locomotive with access to the public. The sale is being managed on behalf of the trustees by The International Railway Preservation Society (IRPS). The engine arriving in Peterborough The century-old engine has been in the UK for the past 30 years

‘Address proof for all season tickets will lead to delays, fights’

Virat A Singh virat.singh@timesgroup.com TWEET @singhvirat246 

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    Adirective from Railway Board, asking both the Western and Central Railway to start noting down the addresses of commuters who buy season passes, is likely to lengthen queues and lead to other complications at ticket counters. 
    While the directive was come into effect from April, it is being implemented gradually across railway stationsonboththeWesternandCentralRailway.Sources said WR has been trying to convey to the Railway Board that the new requirement will lead to many complications. 
    A senior railway official said the directive was the outcome of an order of the Allahabad High Court to ensure that officials in all railway zones note down the addresses of commuters when issuing new season tickets or renewing old ones. He said, “The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), which handles the systems, first said that there was not enough space on season passes to display commuters' addresses. It then made arrangements to do so, but said the system will not be able to handle long addresses and that booking clerk will have to note down such addresses on paper when issuing season tickets." The official added that of the 70 lakh WR and CR commuters, around 48 lakh are season ticet holders. 
    AWR official said that apart from the delays, the system will be impossible to implement in Mumbai owing to its large migrant population. “We are still not completely clear on what kind of address proof will be accepted. Booking clerks have already started telling us they do not want to fight with commuters over this and hence we have asked our senior officials to implement the new system only after there is clarity on this. Otherwise there could be huge fights at booking counters,” warned the official. 
    Meanwhile, booking clerks are already wary of the new system, saying that noting down the address of every season ticket holder will cause huge delays. Under the current system, an ID card is issued to season ticket holders, on which they are expected to write their addresses. 
    “We try to issue at least three tickets per minute and still there are long queues. If we have to note down addresses as well, it will take even more time and people in queue will get agitated,” said a booking clerk, who did not wish to be named. 
    A CR official, however, said the delays caused by the newsystemwillbetemporary.“Foreveryaddressadded to the database, a will be code generated, and from the nexttimeonwards,therewillbenoneedforcommuters tofurnishingtheiraddressproof.Weshouldalsoseethe positive aspects,” said the official.

Alarmed by frequent instances of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms WR seeks TLC at home for its tired motormen DRM appeals to motormen’s families to not saddle his employees with domestic chores. Angry motormen say he is ignoring real issues that cause stress

Rajendra.Aklekar@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 

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    The Western Railway’s suburban section has earned the dubious distinction of reporting the highest number of cases of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms, a clear sign of plummeting safety standards. And WR bosses have been quick to put a finger on the root cause of this problem – lack of tender love and care for motormen when they return home stressed after a day’s work. 
    In a move that has angered motormen, Divisional Railway Manager Shailendra Kumar has issued an appeal to motormen’s families to not burden his employees with household chores so that they are able to rest well and return to work reinvigorated. The appeal, copies of which have been put up in the motormen’s lobby at Churchgate, also urges motormen’s families to create a healthy atmosphere at home, conducive to relaxation. 
    The Western Railway Motormen’s Association (WRMA), which is now in the process of sending its reply to the appeal, has objected to the divisional railway manager linking WR’s safety record to the motormen’s domestic lives. TheWMAhasalsotakenexceptiontotheboss’s expectation that they should ignore their families to improve performance at work. 
    The WMA, in its reply to the appeal, will list the ‘real’ factors responsible for the slipping safety record, as also the working conditions that leave the motormen and other running staff like guards and long-distance train drivers stressed. “It’s ridiculous that now our families are being blamed for Western Railway’s slipping safety performance. In which other line of workareemployeesadvisedtoignoretheirfamilies?Canthesameyardstickapplytooursenior officers,” asked a motorman who did not wish to be identified. 
    Motormen said that its work pressure and the long hours working hours that contribute to stress and lead to cases of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms. “We have been demanding an assistant driver for each train for quite some time now. The responsibility of a jam-packed train on a single person is too heavy.” 
    What has rattled the divisional manager is the fact that that the 12 instances of ‘signal jumping’ in WR’s suburban section in 2013-14 is the highest in India across the railway’s all four divisions. “It is a worrying statistic, no doubt about it. But our families are not responsible for this. It’s the working conditions that causestress.Don’tweallworksothatweareable to look after our families well,” asked another motorman. 
    The motormen have also been upset by a veiled threat in the appeal. The note says that the safety violations committed by the motormen lead to disciplinary action against the motormen and this can impact the entire family. 
    In a retaliatory strike, the motormen have decided to get their wives to write to the divisional railway manager with their views on his appeal. 
    When Mumbai Mirror contacted the divisional railway manager on Friday, he refused to commentontheappeal.Hesaidhedidnotwish to say anything as the appeal is self-explanatory.

The DRM’s appeal urging family members to not involve motormen in domestic routines

Matheran’s first ever locomotive up for sale, family wants govt to bid The family of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who built the Neral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, have said that they want the inaugural engine, which is in the UK, back

Rajendra B Aklekar rajendra.aklekar@timesgroup.com TWEETS @rajtoday 

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    The present-day generation of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who built the Neral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, want the Indian Railways and the government to make an effort to bring back an original locomotive that operated on the heritage Matheran Light Railway. 
    The steam locomotive — one of the original four — has been in the UK for the past 30 years, and has now been put up for sale by the Railworld Museum at Peterborough, England. 
    While no reserve price has been set for the loco, the sale will be executedviainformaltenders,thedeadline for submission of which is June 30. Railworld Museum says the sale willbetoanewownerwhohastheresources and the commitment to restore and operate the Berlin-built locomotive and provide access to the public. The sale is being managed on behalf of the trustees by The International Railway Preservation Society. 
    Sources said there were four novel steam locomotives that the Peerbhoy family had bought specially for the mountainous stretch from MessrsOrienstein&Koppel,Germany. These were specifically built for the narrow curves and steep climbs of the Matheran hills. Of the original four engines — MLR 738 is stationed at Neral and is still used occasionally on the route for special tours, MLR 739 is at National Railway Museum in New Delhi, MLR 741 stands outside Matheran station, while MLR 740 is the one in UK. 
    Built in 1907, the 19.97-km stretchbetweenNeralandMatheran in Raigad district of Maharashtra has been included by UNESCO in its tentative heritage list among mountain railways of India. 
    “The Neral-Matheran railway is our family’s creation and we would like the government to honour Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy by getting this original locomotive back to India,” said Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, a great-grandsonofthePeerbhoyfamily, who shuttle between Matheran andClareRoadatBycullawherethey live. 
    Comprising two sisters, Fatima and Zainab, and three sons, Husain, Ali Akbar and Ali Asgar, the family own the Khatija Resorts at Matheran,runacharityinSaurashtra,anda school near Neral. 
    They also resent the attitude of the authorities towards the quaint railwayanditsfounder.“EventhelocomotivethatstandsoutsideMatheran station today does not bear the Peerbhoy name. The Railways should at least install an adequate plaque at the site,” Ali Akbar added. 
    When Mirror contacted Indian Railways Executive Director (Heritage) Manu Goel, he said he was yet tohearabouttheupcomingsale,and wouldhavetoinquireaboutitbefore commenting. 
    Meanwhile, Phil Marshall of the International Railway Preservation Society, said, The locomotive is currently dismantled and in secure storage following a comprehensive condition survey by a third party. The boiler report and basic mechanical assessment are available to interested parties, and inspections of the locomotive can be arranged.” 
    Asked about the expected price, Marshall said, “As the sale evoked considerable interest, we decided not to set a reserve price. We want to ensure that the loco is restored and that the public will have access to it. Assuch,wewillalsotakeintoconsideration the future uses of the loco.” 
    Echoing the Peerbhoy family’s sentiments is Prof Dr Balkrishna Bhosaleofthesociologydepartment of Mumbai University, who is writing a book on the history of Matheran and its railway. “This is the chance…. we should buy the locomotive and restore it. It’s a matter of shamethatthelocomotiveisoutside India. The Indian Railways must make a bid for it,” Prof Bhosale said. 
    Built in 1907, the locos were very successful and the fleet of four worked the line exclusively until the introduction of diesel engines in 1965. Thereafter, the steam locomotives continued in service for some time, until they were withdrawn in 1982. 
    The MLR 740 was donated to Britain by the Government of India in 1985 in recognition of services towards the establishment of India’s National Railway Museum. The engine was acquired by the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum and arrived in UKonNovember28,1986.Itwasdonated to Railworld Museum, Peterborough, in 1991.

The century-old engine has been in the UK for the past 30 years

Teen killed, 23 hurt as CR local derails

Pradeep Gupta & Manthan K Mehta TNN 

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Mumbai: A 19-year-old HSC student died while 23 others were injured, three of them seriously, when a CST-bound local train from Kasara derailed near Titwala station on Thursday afternoon. Though the cause of the accident could not be immediately ascertained, it is believed to have been caused either due to decoupling of coaches or track-related failure. 
    The accident took place at around 2.40pm near pole number 61/37, between Ambivli and Titwala, when the local coming from Kasara derailed and six of its coaches moved around 500 metres from the rest of the train. A senior official said, “Either derailment led to the de-coupling of coaches or the decoupling may have caused the derailment. Neither possibility can be ruled out till a probe is carried out.” A statutory inquiry will be held by the commissioner of railway safety (central circle). 
    The accident’s only casualty, Ghatkopar resident Dhaval Lodaya, had just appeared for his HSC exam. He had gone to the Manas Jain temple at Asangaon with four friends after the exam and was on his way back when tragedy struck. 
    GRP sub-inspector Nilesh Vaze said the injured were initially admitted to Rukminibai Hospital and Railway Hospital. ‘Decoupling unlikely to have caused derailment’ 
    Railway officials said decoupling of coaches didn’t seem to be a plausible reason for Thursday’s train derailment near Titwala which killed a 19-year-old and injured 23 others, including the train’s guard. 
    Officials pointed out tha coaches 6 to 10 had derailed, while it was the coupling of coaches 7 and 8 that was found to be broken. “Coaches which get decoupled do not get derailed, it is coaches behind them which are usually affected,” and official said. 
    Central Railway’s general manager S K Sood reiterated the view. “I do no think that decoupling could have been reason, but it is difficult to ascertain the cause as this stage,” he said. Local railway officials said some track repair work had been carried out earlier in the day. But Sood said, “No major work was carried out on the track which could have led to such an incident.” 
    According to the Kalyan GRP team that is probing the incident, after the train derailed, those standing on the footboard fell down on impact and suffered injuries. Officials said the train may have been traveling at a speed of 60-70 kmph hour when it jumped tracks. 
    Among those seriously injured in the derailment was the guard, R N Dubey (48). Two commuters who too suffered major injuries were moved to Sion Hospital. Three commuters were discharged from hospitals after initial treatment. 
    A CR official said, “Traffic on the Up and Down directions was suspended till late in the evening as the derailed coach had infringed on the Down tracks too. Shuttle services were operating between Titwala and Kasara and Amibivli to Kalyan. Moreover, two long-distance trains were held up.” 
INVESTIGATION ORDERED 
    Local railway officials claimed some track repair work had been carried out on Thursday. But senior CR officials said no major work was carried out on the track which could have caused such an incident 
    Officials said decoupling didn’t seem plausible as coaches 6 to 10 were derailed, while the coupling of coaches 7 and 8 was broken. They said coaches which get decoupled do not get derailed, but it is coaches behind them are affected. A probe has been ordered

It is still unclear if the coaches of the CST-bound local decoupled after jumping tracks near Titwala or if the decoupling led to derailment

VICTIM | DHAVAL LODAYA (19) | A resident of Ghatkopar, Dhaval recently appeared for his HSC exams. After completing his last exam, Lodaya went with four family friends to Manas Jain Mandir in Aasangaon and was on his way back home on Thursday when he died in the mishap