Engine, seven coaches of Duronto Express derails near Mumbai

DH

Thane/Mumbai, 29 Aug 2017: In yet another railway mishap, the engine and seven coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Asangaon and Vashind stations on the Central Railway (CR) route, nearly 70 kms from downtown Mumbai.

 

While the CR did not confirm any injuries, eye-witnesses and passengers travelling in the overnight train, said that passengers sustained minor wounds.

 

 

The 12290 Nagpur-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai train derailed between 0630 to 0640 hrs.

 

As a result of the derailment, the local train suburban services between Kalyan-Kasara on went haywire.

 

Some of the inbound and outgoing long-distance trains also reported delays.

 

The cause of the accident is not yet known, however, initial reports said that tracks breached as the Kasara Ghats region had been receiving heavy rainfall since the last Friday.

 

“It was a huge bang, a loud noise…the passengers were taken by surprise, some of them fell from berths because of the impact. Most of the passengers were sleeping at that time,” said Sanjay Tiwari, a TV actor, who was travelling in the train. “We are now walking along the tracks,” Tiwari told Deccan Herald as he walked to look for alternative means of transport.

 

Passengers travelling by the train said that the train was running slow at that time and then came this shattering effect and loud noise. "I heard a huge bang," said a person travelling in the train.

 

Soon after the incident, top officials including CR general manager D K Sharma had left by route to the accident site to supervise the rescue, relief and restoration operations.

 

“The locomotive and seven coaches of the train had derailed,” CR chief public relations officer Sunil Udasi said, adding that within 15 minutes of the incident being reported top officials have reached the spot and they should be reaching in some time.

 

He said that the CR was in touch with the Maharashtra government and is organizing buses for passengers to reach Mumbai. “We are making all efforts to help out the passengers,” he said.

 

As far as the CR suburban services was concerned, he said that the Main line from Kalyan to CSMT, Karjat-Kalyan, the Harbour line and Trans-Harbour line are running normally. Only the Karara-Kalyan section was affected he said.

 

Doctors and relief material had been rushed from Kasara and Kalyan. Officials of Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) too have reached the spot.

 

Five to six hours for route restoration

It would take five to six hours for the services to be restored. First, the derailed coaches have to be re-railed, the route has to tested and then open for traffic.Top CR officials have briefed Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu about the incident. It may be recalled that Prabhu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week and offered to resign in the wake of series of railway incidents, however, the latter had asked him to hold.

Trains Diverted/Short-Terminated

Some of the trains were diverted or short-terminated because of the accident. The CSMT-Howrah Gitanjali Express was diverted via Kalyan-Karjat-Pune-Daund-Manmad. The Bhusaval-Pune Express will run via Manmad-Daund and will be short-terminated at Daund.