Passengers were left in the lurch as several trains were halted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj terminus (CSMT) during peak travel hours on Thursday evening as the Central Railway’s worker unions called a flash strike for an hour to protest against the Government Railway Police’s (GRP) FIR against two engineers.
On November 1, the Government Railway Police (GRP)—citing a report by Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) and its own officers—registered an FIR against two Central Railway (CR) engineers and other seniors in connection with the Mumbra train accident that caused five deaths in June this year. Detailing six reasons behind the action, the FIR stated that the accident occurred due to the failure of the railway officials to carry out the maintenance work on the railway track, despite the awareness that the incoming and outgoing trains could come close to each other and cause an accident, resulting in loss of life and property.
As the FIR came to light, the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) on Wednesday announced that they would hold a protest on Thursday at CSMT. Calling for the withdrawal of the FIR, the union — in a notice to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) — said a morcha would be carried out outside the DRM’s office at the CSMT around 4.30pm on Thursday.
Protesters bearing CRMS and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) posters staged a sit-in protest outside the senior officials’ office calling for the revocation of the FIR against the Central Railway engineers, bringing train operations to a halt around 5:30pm on Thursday. The strike came during the peak travel hours, taking a hit on commuters travelling towards the suburbs from CSMT.
Stranded on the platform, commuters said there was immense confusion over the suspension of train services as no announcements were being made. Amid the chaos, several passengers deboarded the halted trains and were seen walking on the tracks. Meanwhile, the lack of train services led to overcrowding on the CSMT platform as well as other Central Railway stations such as Byculla and Sandhurst road.
Central Railway’s Chief public relations officer (CPRO) Swapnil Nila said the protestors were pacified and train services resumed at 6.45pm from CSMT.
However, CR officials refused to comment on the total number of services that were suspended and halted during the peak hours in the wake of the protests.
