No casualties were reported in the incident.
The engine and two coaches of Amritsar-bound Paschim Express brushed past a truck that was about to cross the railway tracks near Kandivali station on Monday afternoon. The truck carrying construction material was on way to the Kandivali carshed of the Railways.
Four rail staffers — station masters B V Samant and Vinod Dalvi, traffic inspector M S Shaikh and points man Bharat Solanki — were suspended while an inquiry into the matter has been ordered. An FIR has been registered against the truck driver, Prakash Sambhali, under the Railway Act.
While no casualties were reported, the train was halted for an hour and the locomotive engine was changed as a precautionary measure before allowing the train with passengers onboard to go ahead.
Officials said the incident was the result of a lapse in following the procedure laid down, wherein the control room has to be informed in case the level crossing gate is opened for any vehicular movement.
Around 12.30 pm, the level crossing was only opened for the truck to pass through. It was hit by the train when it came too close to the tracks. While officials said that it is the only way to reach the carshed, they maintained that vehicles cross the tracks under strict rules. “The points man monitoring the level crossing gate is supposed to take permission from the station superintendent, who only allows it after informing the control room and ensuring that no train is expected,” said an official from Western Railway. Following the incident, the site was visited by Divisional Railway Manager G V L Satyakumar. A 15-day long safety drive to identify such accident-prone locations on rail tracks has been ordered by WR.
This is the second such incident in the last two days. The motorman of a Churchgate-bound fast local train had brought the train to halt in time near Jogeshwari after spotting a truck that has come too close to the tracks.