Central Rly for shifting signal poles further away from tracks

Following an incident last Thursday when three commuters in a crowded local train lost their lives and more than 20 were injured after hitting a signal pole near Nahur station, Central Railway (CR) officials have decided to seek an amendment in a rule to increase the distance of signal poles from the tracks.

Following an incident last Thursday when three commuters in a crowded local train lost their lives and more than 20 were injured after hitting a signal pole near Nahur station, Central Railway (CR) officials have decided to seek an amendment in a rule to increase the distance of signal poles from the tracks.

HT Image

According to present safety norms, the signal pole should be located at a distance not less than 2.33 metres from the centre of a railway track. CR officials feel that while this distance is sufficient in the case of outstation trains, it compromises safety for Mumbai’s suburban trains, which are wider, and literally spilling over with commuters during peak hours.

“The CR general manager informed us that he was going to write to the Railway Board on this matter,” said Subhash Gupta, Member of National Railway Users Consultative Committee (NRUCC).