CR services almost back to normalcy

“On all four lines,the signals are now working and the yellow aspect of the signals has been restored. This means the trains don’t have to halt or wait for any authority to move forward. We should be able to get the green aspect on the signals by tonight,” said V A Malegaonkar,chief spokesman,CR. Trains can run at a speed of about 30-40 kmph at yellow signals.

However,Malegaonkar said 100 per cent efficiency in services will be achieved only on Saturday,as about five rakes are stuck in the Kurla car shed and need to be brought into service.

“We will do this operation tonight and if it is successful,hopefully we should be able to achieve 100 percent efficiency tomorrow,” Malegaonkar.

Around midnight on Wednesday,the signalling cabins of Vidyavihar and Kurla caught fire causing chaos during the day and inconveniencing nearly four million commuters.

The fire,which was doused by around 12.30 am,damaged several signals between Kurla and Vidyavihar,affecting the main line as well as harbour line,as the rakes had to be run by manual piloting. Around 200 officials and engineers worked day and night since Wednesday to repair the signals and restore normal services. A three-member technical committee has been set up to probe the incident and suggest remedial measures. The committee is likely to submit a report within a week.

Freight traffic disrupted by the fire is yet to be restored. About four rakes of boxes of coal to be transported to the power houses of Maharashtra State Power Generation Company and two rakes of sugar and cement for exports are waiting at the Bombay Port Trust. Similarly,three rakes of petroleum product and fertilizer are waiting at Trombay for transportation.

“There is no target set for the restoration of freight as our focus was on the commuters. Estimated loss due to non-transportation of freight is yet to be calculated,” Malegaonkar said.