Barely a fortnight after two trains rammed into each other near Andheri station, the Western line witnessed another near miss. On Friday afternoon, a collision was averted between a suburban
local and a shunting engine near Bhayander station.
According to officials, a collision was averted at Bhayander station between down Virar local number 515 and a shunting engine on Down slow line at 1.42 pm. The local was detained for around 35 minutes.
“Trains were being shifted (shunted) from the Bhayander yard to the Mumbai Central yard. While the shifting was taking place, a problem occurred in the signalling system, and as a result, one of the trains had to be taken back to get the desired signal. Due to this, suburban services also had to be halted for some time,” a railway official said.
The shunting engine had seven scrap bogies. While it was crossing the track, a Virar-bound local appro-ached Bhayander station on the same track and it had to be stopped, just short of the shunting engine, the official claimed.
However, when asked about the incident, Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer of the Western Railway, denied that it was a near miss. “It was not a near miss, as it has been rumoured.”
On the night of June 16, two suburban locals collided head on near Andheri station.