Central Railway removes mud from tracks post mishap

Mumbai: Following the derailment of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto express train on Tuesday, Central Railway authorities have started removing the mud, which fell on the tracks due to a landslide caused by heavy rains.

Till Wednesday 5 pm, all the local trains towards Kasara were cancelled. More than around 20 long-distance trains have been cancelled, and some have been diverted via Bhusaval, Pune and Panvel.

According to the officials, hundreds of employees led by the general manager (GM) and a team of officers are working non-stop at the derailment site for more than 30 hours. “The restoration team is still battling heavy rains accompanied by the landslides and that too in a totally inhospitable condition,” said the official.

They are not only working on removing the derailed coaches of the Duronto but are clearing the entire stretch of the track along with the over head electrical (OHE) wire which had snapped. The railway team had to face a big challenge of re-erecting the masts in mushy and slippery conditions. The time for restoration work between Vasind and Asangoan, where the derailment happened, has been revised from 10 to 16 hours on Wednesday due to heavy rains and difficult conditions at the site.

CSTM-Howrah Mail via Chheoki, CSTM-Latur Express, CSTM-Chennai Central Mail, LLT-Varanasi Express, LLT-Darbhanga Express, LLT-Azamgarh Express, Pune-CSTM Deccan Express, Pune-CSTM Intercity Express, Pune-CSTM Indrayani Express were cancelled. Ernakulam-Hazrat Nizamuddin Mangala Express were diverted via Vasai Road-Jalgaon Bhusaval. Many other trains were also rescheduled.