Local train traffic on Mumbai's Western line was affected in a big way between 3:30pm and 4pm on Monday after several signalling cables got burnt in a freak incident. According to officials, these signalling cables were running by a culvert close to Jogeshwari station. Some people who were burning garbage near the culvert- which runs about 15 feet beneath the four tracks at Jogeshwari, and the fire accidentally spread to the signalling cables leaving large columns of smoke billowing onto the tracks.
The area near where the fire took place has a lot of cowsheds, said WR officials, and the fire might have been from the garbage that these cowshed employees regularly light up in order to dispose it off quickly.
Speaking to dna, Shailendra Kumar, divisional railway manager, WR said, "Since a lot of cables have got damaged it has got critical. It could lead to intermittent signal failures which can stall trains on all the tracks. All the top officials of the division have been rushed to the site to ensure the damage is curtailed and train traffic is not affected any more."
