After Mumbai road overbridge collapse, 12 teams to inspect 445 structures on railway premises

The BMC and Western and Central Railways officials held a meeting Thursday. (Express photo by Ganesh Tendulkar)

In the aftermath of Andheri’s G K Gokhale Road overbridge collapse Tuesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Western and Central Railways have jointly decided to form 12 teams to inspect and assess the condition of 445 bridges and other structures on railway premises across the city.

On Thursday, the three agencies that faced criticisms from various quarters following Tuesday’s incident in which the pathway of a bridge collapsed on the tracks near Andheri station injuring five, held a meeting.

The meeting at the BMC headquarters was chaired by civic chief Ajoy Mehta and attended by CR general manager D K Sharma and WR general manager A K Gupta and the divisional managers of both CR and WR.

“A decision has been taken to form 12 teams comprising BMC and railway officials and experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to assess and inspect 445 structures passing over railway tracks in Mumbai,” said Mehta.

CR spokesperson Sunil Udasi said an audit of the structures will begin from Friday and bridges like Elphinstone Bridge and Lokmanya Tilak Bridge would be inspected first. Udasi added that such joint meetings would be held every month.

On Tuesday evening, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, after visiting the collapse site in Andheri, had announced that a joint inspection and structural audits would be carried out on these structures to ensure commuters’ safety. On Thursday, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), investigating the incident, invited witnesses to have their statements recorded.

A senior official from WR said some of the staff members at Andheri station and residents present at the spot during the incident, have recorded their statements as part of probe. The CRS report on the incident is expected to be submitted in 15 days, the official said.

“For better coordination, such joint meetings will be held every month on a particular day in which joint decisions will be taken by senior engineers from the BMC and railways,” Mehta said.

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2 WR staffers suspended

Two Western Railway (WR) staffers were suspended for lack of coordination after a train bound for Bhayander from Bandra on Tuesday had to be terminated as a crossover between the Western line and Harbour line had still not been repaired after the bridge collapse in Andheri.

Passengers on the train were hassled as they had to alight at Andheri after the train was terminated. As the crossover was still not repaired, the train could not proceed towards Bhayander.