Mumbai monorail trains come head to head on same track; no casualties reported

Mumbai’s monorail commuters had a close shave on Saturday evening, after two trains happened to be driving on the same track.

The two trains, moving in opposite directions, came close to a collision on the monorail platform, which moves on an elevated magnetic route. No casualties were reported.

According to media reports, the incident took place in Chembur.

Reports said it was likely to be a technical error that led to two trains moving on the same track. However, before there could be a collision, the trains halted. It is unclear how many passengers were travelling in the trains.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said it was a “technical error”. “One rake had suffered a power failure. So another was sent to tow away the affected rake,” it said.

The Mumbai monorail, the first such service in the country, was inaugurated in 2014, and runs on an 8.93-kilometre route from Chembur to Wadala.

The service has already had a taste of disaster twice before its launch. In June 2011, a beam weighing 60 tonnes collapsed on workers at the construction site on RCF Road leading to the death of two workers, according to a report in The Indian Express .

Another accident occurred in July 2012, when a slab collapsed in the Shantinagar slum area in Wadala, trapping six people under the debris and killing one.

Clarification: It was later brought to our notice that the incident took place because one of the rakes suffered a power failure, and the second train was merely sent to rescue the stranded one. We apologise for the error. An updated version of incidents can be found here