RailEnquiry

Central Railway has run up severe losses owing to the disruption of services caused by the Kurla fire and is certain to suffer more over the next few days. Officials said CR lost out on about Rs 1.75 crore due to a drop in ticket sales over just two days and is expected to suffer a further loss of about Rs 15 crore due to suspension of freight traffic.A short-circuit in underground cables between Kurla and Vidyavihar caused a fire after Tuesday midnight that quickly spread to the signalling cabin at Vidyavihar and the route relay interlocking cabin at Kurla.The damage from the blaze to signalling panels, buildings and material alone is expected to cost CR about Rs 5 crore."The financial year has begun on a bad note for us," said a senior railway official. "On April 18, the earnings from sale of tickets was Rs 2.17 crore, down from Rs 3.16 crore on the same date last year. Though figures are yet to be compiled for April 19, the earnings from ticket sales are estimated to be around Rs 75 lakh less."The bigger loss has been because of suspension of freight traffic, which is a major source of revenue for the railways. The movement of freight trains has come to a standstill since Wednesday because the signals at the 25-30 points between Kurla and Vidyavihar have been clamped by the CR. This has disallowed trains from switching tracks. Goods trains usually change to the Main line or to the Harbour line (if they are heading to Trombay) at Kurla from tracks coming from the Mumbai port. The signals are likely to remain clamped for the next few days."Two to three rakes of coal come from the Mumbai Port Trust every day. But since freight operations have come to a halt, four rakes of coal are still standing at the port," said. V A Malegaonkar, the Central Railway's chief public relations officer. "It is difficult to provide the revenue loss due to stoppage of these operations. The committee appointed to inquire into the April 18 fire incident will be able to calculate the exact loss."Other officials were more forthcoming. "The average daily loss is approximately Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore. If the traffic does not operate for, say, seven days, the total loss could be in the region of Rs 14-15 crore," said one official. "These are conservative estimates and are likely to be higher when actual calculations are made."Another official said, "We are not even thinking of touching the points for a few days. There is a fear that any disruption while carrying restoration could derail the local services again, inviting public wrath."Kurla has a complicated layout as more than 900 train, including goods and mail express trains, pass through this spot. CR also transports fertilizers to Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizers in Trombay and oil from refineries.
Leaking cylinder sparks fire at same Kurla spot
The railways, it appears, does not learn from past mistakes. A minor fire broke out on the roof of the Kurla signalling cabin on Friday, which was damaged due to a blaze earlier this week, leading to the city's lifeline getting affected. A Railway Police Force personnel said the Friday fire occurred on the terrace of the cabin around 5.15pm because of "a leak from a LPG cylinder used for preparing food for workers". Two fire engines and an ambulance were rushed to the spot, but by then, since the fire was minor, railway employees and others present at the site were able douse it in minutes.