The collapse of a tin shed on Platform No. 5 at Charbagh railway station, which left a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) and two passengers injured on Friday, has raised questions over safety oversight during ongoing redevelopment works, particularly as senior railway officials had inspected the site less than a week earlier.
According to railway sources, concerns regarding inadequate safety measures at the construction site had been flagged during a recent inspection. These included the absence of proper barricading around the work zone, unrestricted passenger movement near the construction area, lack of green safety netting, and inadequate protective arrangements for workers.
The concerns were reportedly raised during a review of the air concourse project being executed by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA). On May 23, Northern Railway’s Lucknow divisional railway manager (DRM), Sunil Kumar Verma, inspected the project and stressed that passenger safety must remain the top priority during construction activities. He directed officials and the executing agency to ensure quality work and strict adherence to safety protocols.
Despite those directions, the shed collapsed on Friday, prompting questions over whether the concerns raised by field-level officials were adequately addressed and whether accountability extends beyond engineers and contractors to senior supervisory officials.
The incident occurred in an area affected by a traffic block imposed from May 15 to June 23 for concourse construction work. Railway officials said a temporary shed had been erected to separate platforms while heavy machinery and construction material remained in the vicinity. Preliminary findings suggest that a portion of the shed may have lacked adequate support on the track side after adjoining sections had been removed.
Following the incident, Northern Railway constituted a three-member committee to investigate the cause of the collapse. General manager Rajesh Pandey imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on the EPC contractor, removed the team leader overseeing the project, suspended the RLDA project engineer, and placed the divisional construction supervisor under suspension.
However, no action has so far been announced against senior railway or RLDA officials, triggering fresh debate over institutional accountability in large infrastructure projects.
The latest incident comes barely two weeks after a portion of the roof of the women’s waiting room at Lucknow Junction railway station collapsed on May 15. During the subsequent inquiry, another section of the weakened roof reportedly gave way while officials were inspecting the site, though no one was injured.
Railway sources familiar with that investigation said the collapse was attributed to structural alterations carried out during expansion work without adequately assessing the load-bearing role of existing walls and pillars in the ageing station building.
