Railway workshop cranes in state of disrepair, say unions

uspension cranes are an integral part of railway workshops to move bogies, however, railway unions have claimed that some of them have exhausted their shelf-life in the city. This came to light after a crane that was moving a bogie collapsed at a Lower Parel workshop on February 18

Mumbai: Suspension cranes are an integral part of railway workshops to move bogies, however, railway unions have claimed that some of them have exhausted their shelf-life in the city.

Railway workshop cranes in state of disrepair, say unions

This came to light after a crane that was moving a bogie collapsed at a Lower Parel workshop on February 18.

Ashok Kumar Misra, general manager of Western Railway, on March 3 visited the Railway Carriage Workshop at Lower Parel and took stock of various issues. He interacted with rail unions and employees as well.

“The cranes play a vital role in the out-turn of periodic overhauling of the coaches in the workshop. There are 27 cranes spread over the workshop. The failure of any crane in any shift affects the smooth functioning of the workshop. Out of 27 cranes, seven are over-aged. The codal life has exhausted but these cranes are still working,” a letter given to the WR administration read. The railway unions claim that these cranes are more than 30-35 years old.

According to the unions, a few rail staff were saved by a whisker when the crane collapsed at Lower Parel. The crane driver alerted other employees standing close to the crane. The rail employees claimed that with so many trains running, they need periodic maintenance and overhauling. “This puts pressure on the schedule as the administration expects faster turnout. It also leads to wear and tear,” the employees said.

“These cranes have lived their life. We have also informed the administration about the same,” J Bhosale, working president, Western Railway Employees Union, said.

“The schedule to increase the number of bogies and coaches is consistently increasing. Such incidents are putting the lives of workers at risk. The administration has assured that by June, new cranes will be installed,” Ravindra Jadhav, president, Western Railway Bhartiya Kamgaar Sena, said.