BELAGAVI
Around 940 passengers and staff onboard the Vasco-Howrah Amaravathi Express had a lucky escape when the front pair of wheels of the leading loco of the train derailed between Dudhsagar and Caranzol on Tuesday morning.
According to South Western Railway (SWR) Chief Public Relations Officer E Vijaya, the incident took place at about 8.56 am, shortly after the train had started from Vasco at 6.30 am and passed Dudhsagar at 8.50 am.
The SWR said all passengers and staff on board are safe and no casualty or injury was reported.
An Accident Relief Train (ART) and Medical Equipment Van left Castle Rock at 9.45 am and reached the spot at 10.35 am.
The DRM Hubballi Arvind Malkhede along with a divisional team of senior officers rushed to the site by a Self Propelled Accident Relief Train from Hubballi.
The incident led the Goa Express to be stranded at Castle Rock and the Ernakulam-Pune Express to be stranded at Sanvordem.
The entire rear portion of the affected train was detached and left the site at 11.10 am, arriving at Dudhsagar a few minutes later.
The train was later taken to Kulem, where a Multi Loco had been arranged to haul the train for the onward journey towards Hubballi.
Meanwhile, the locomotive of the train which derailed between Dudhsagar and Caranzol was re-railed at 11.30 am.
All onboard passengers in the affected train have been served snacks, tea and water, while packed lunch was also arranged.
The pantry cars in Goa Express and Ernakulam-Pune Express had arranged food and snacks for passengers in the affected train.
Two of the three trains which were delayed later resumed their journey.
The Nizamuddin-Goa Express passed the derailment spot at 2 pm and reached Kulem at 2.58 pm, while the Vasco-Shalimar Amaravati Express arrived at Castlerock at 3.25 pm.
Meanwhile, a departmental enquiry has been ordered by the SWR to enquire into the cause of the derailment.
Senior Officers led by Sanjeev Kishore (General Manager), PK Mishra (Additional General Manager), SPS Gupta (Principal Chief Engineer), Alok Tiwari (Principal Chief Safety Officer) and other officials have been closely monitoring the situation.
