Panaji: Train services on the South Western Railway were disrupted on Friday after a goods train with seventeen loaded wagons derailed between the Sonalim and Dudhsagar section in Goa. The incident occurred at 9:35 a.m., affecting train traffic in the ghat section of the Hubballi Division.
According to Manjunath Kanamadi, the Chief Public Relations Officer of South Western Railway, three passenger trains were diverted due to the derailment. The affected trains include the Vasco Da Gama “ Tirupati/Hyderabad Weekly Express (Train No. 17420/17022), which was rerouted via Madgaon, Karwar, Padil, Subhramanya Road, Hassan, Arsikere, Chikjajur, Rayadurga, and Ballari before returning to its regular route.
Similarly, the Vasco Da Gama “ Hazrat Nizamuddin Express (Train No. 12779) was diverted to run via Madgaon, Roha, Panvel, Kalyan, and Pune. The Hazrat Nizamuddin “ Vasco Da Gama Express (Train No. 12780) was also rerouted through Pune, Kalyan, Panvel, Roha, and Madgaon.
In addition, two trains were cancelled: the Yesvantpur “ Vasco Da Gama (Train No. 17309) and the Vasco Da Gama “ Yesvantpur (Train No. 17310), both scheduled for travel on August 9, 2024.
To address the situation, accident relief trains equipped with 140-ton cranes and other necessary materials were dispatched from Vasco Da Gama and Hubballi to the derailment site. Senior railway officials, including General Manager Arvind Srivastava, Additional General Manager K.S. Jain, and other principal department heads, are closely monitoring the restoration efforts. Harsh Khare, Divisional Railway Manager of Hubballi, along with other senior officers, also rushed to the site to oversee the ongoing restoration work.
