Motormen attending collegue's funeral leads to 147 trains cancellation at CR divsion

A disruption in train services hit the Central Railway (CR) on Saturday as motormen refrained from working overtime following the tragic incident of motorman Murlidhar Sharma's demise. Sharma was fatally run over while crossing tracks at Byculla.

The absence of motormen due to attending Sharma's funeral led to the cancellation of approximately 147 trains, including 88 local services, during the evening peak hours. Delays averaging 15-30 minutes ensued, causing inconvenience to commuters with overcrowding at stations and inside trains.

Motormen expressed discontent with the administration's handling of minor technical faults, despite their compensatory efforts through overtime work. Railway unions voiced concerns about the skepticism among motormen regarding additional work hours.

With around 450 motormen managing 1,810 daily services on CR, unions highlight a significant shortfall in staffing, claiming 25-30% unfilled vacancies.

The incident on February 9, wherein Sharma was fatally run over while allegedly breaching a red signal near Kurla, is under investigation by railway officials. Unions contend that Sharma may have been under stress due to prior incidents of signal passing.