Allegations of False Data Entry Shake Mumbai’s Railway System

Mumbai’s Central Railway (CR) faces a storm of allegations following revelations of potential data manipulation within its centralised system, raising serious concerns about the integrity of safety measures for city commuters.

The emergence of these allegations comes in the wake of two recent derailments on the Harbour line, prompting questions about the accuracy and reliability of information fed into the railway system. A railway motorman’s alarming letter to the general manager, dated April 13, exposes what he describes as a disturbing trend of misleading and false updates infiltrating CR’s Mumbai division’s central database. The motorman highlighted a specific incident on the harbour line tracks, where he reported a safety concern between Belapur and Seawoods stations while piloting a Panvel local train. However, within a mere 23 minutes, maintenance staff purportedly responded with a clean bill of health, asserting that no anomalies were detected during inspection.

The letter that the motorman sent to the management

The gravity of the situation escalated when subsequent observations revealed that the reported spot was upgraded with a new four-meter track, accompanied by a cautionary directive to slow down trains to 30 kmph—a precautionary measure that remains in effect to date. The motorman alleges that such incidents of false feedback and information manipulation have become common practice, particularly among EMU (local train) car shed staff, prompting a plea for stricter norms governing data entry into the database. While railway officials assure an investigation into the matter, the timing of these revelations amidst recent derailments underscores the urgency of addressing systemic flaws within Mumbai’s railway infrastructure. However, officials maintain that the two derailments and the allegations of data manipulation are distinct issues, with the latter pertaining to potential lapses in data integrity rather than direct causes of the derailments. The allegations cast a shadow over CR’s commitment to ensuring passenger safety and operational transparency, necessitating swift and decisive action to restore public trust and confidence in Mumbai’s railway system. As investigations unfold, stakeholders await concrete measures to rectify deficiencies in data management practices and uphold the highest standards of safety and accountability within the railway sector.