Agencies/Mumbai


Commuters sit on top and hang onto an overcrowded suburban railway train as it makes its way on the Central Railway (CR) line in Mumbai yesterday
Three commuters hanging onto the outside of a train in Mumbai were killed yesterday when they were hit by an iron pole in the latest accident on India’s overcrowded railways, police said.
At least 12 other people on the train were injured when they fell off between Bhandup and Nahur stations on the Central Railway as passengers desperately tried to stay aboard as it travelled through the city’s suburbs.
“It appears that this unfortunate and freak incident is a result of extreme overcrowding on the train,” the railway network said in a statement.
A police official said that two of the three commuters died immediately when they were hit by the iron pole between stations. A third person died later of his injuries.
Other commuters who were clutching onto the outside window grills of the train fell in a heap beside the tracks in the accident.
Fifteen others also lost balance and fell off crowded trains at various other stations, a Central Railway official said.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy announced a compensation of Rs200,000 each to the families of the dead.
“The minister has expressed deep condolence over the unfortunate and tragic death of two people in Mumbai and announced a compensation of Rs2 lakh each,” said a railway official.
Meanwhile, Mumbai continued to limp for the second day yesterday as the Central Railway train services remained disrupted, impacting commuters and students. Work on a fire-ravaged signal network has been taken up on a war-footing, an official said.
A CR spokesman claimed they planned to operate around 85% of the 1,580-plus regular services on the suburban sector which is patronised by over 4.5mn commuters daily.
He said that the train service originating from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to the Kalyan route in Thane were “near normal,” but the services towards CST remained disrupted and delayed.
“Until then, we have continued all the alternate arrangements for the commuters, including permitting them to travel by Western Railway or on long-distance trains,” the official said.
Mumbai University announced that extra time will be given to students who are unable to reach their examination halls.
The university officials also said those students who missed their exams on Wednesday or yesterday will not lose their academic year and a decision on a re-examination will be taken soon.
Since Wednesday, the situation showed signs of improvement with indicators on many major stations working.
The signals and indicators had blanked out since 1am on Wednesday after fire gutted the main signal cabin at Kurla station.
Following the blaze, the entire automatic signalling system collapsed and the CR resorted to running barely half the number of services on manual signals at heavily restricted speeds, leading to delays and cancellations.
Consequently, the task of replacing the electric and signal equipment, panels and related technical works, was taken up on a round-the-clock basis by the CR.
Millions of commuters and students in the city have faced a harrowing time since Wednesday as local trains were severely disrupted following the fire.
Mumbai’s packed suburban trains carry an estimated 7mn people every day and are a lifeline in the congested city.