The collision of trains at Mahim station on Sunday has raised questions about the multi-crore devices installed by the railways to prevent such incidents.

Western Railway had installed state-of-the-art Train Management System and an Auxiliary Warning System to avert such collisions. It had also laid optic fibers on tracks for smooth running of trains.

“Railways cannot blame such accidents on human error alone. There is always a possibility of human error. In this era of hi-technology, railways will have to replace and update the existing system, if they have failed to avert accidents in the past,” said a senior WR official requesting anonymity.

On Sunday, a local train crashed into the rear of another, which had halted at Mahim station injuring eight commuters and disrupting services.

According to the statement given by motorman SP Kolhe, the signal was yellow when he was moving towards Mahim from Matunga. Though the speed of the train was 30-35 km, because of a curve ahead the motorman could not see the train at Mahim station. Despite of applying the emergency brakes, the train collided with the other.

“In such a situation, the railway control room could have informed the motorman about the train at Mahim station. This could have averted the collision. Also, there is an auxiliary warning system to warn the motorman when a train exceeds the speed limit. But these anti-collision devices did not warn the motorman either,” added the official.

SS Gupta, chief public relations officer for WR, said, “At this stage, I cannot comment on the issue. But it was a rare incident. Railways will make all efforts and take measures to avoid any such mishap. The Commissioner (Railways) will conduct the enquiry into the incident and only after the report is out we will come to know of the actual cause.”