Ballast train derails Harbour line
Commuters faced a harrowing time on the Harbour line on Friday morning after a ballast train derailed between CST and Masjid. More than 100 services were cancelled and 150 delayed.
All services came to a halt between CST and Wadala for over three hours. The first harbour line train leaves CST at around 4.35am, but on Friday, the first local only left at 8.09am.
The disruption of services at the beginning of the peak hour led to jam packed trains, which irked passengers, who complained about trains running 45 minutes late in the morning and 15 minutes late in the afternoon.
The bogie of the train derailed at 4.05 am because the railway track was not properly cleared of the ballast that was unloaded for the ongoing maintenance. The Accident Relief train was ordered immediately and arrived at 5.50 am. The rerailment work was completed at 7 am and the track was declared safe at 7.15 am.
Narendra Patil, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway said that an inquiry had been ordered. “It seems to be a case of negligence while unloading the ballast,” Patil said. Prabhat Sahai, MD, MRVC, the agency carrying out the work at CST, said it would be clear who bore responsibility for the incident after the inquiry.
All services came to a halt between CST and Wadala for over three hours. The first harbour line train leaves CST at around 4.35am, but on Friday, the first local only left at 8.09am.
The disruption of services at the beginning of the peak hour led to jam packed trains, which irked passengers, who complained about trains running 45 minutes late in the morning and 15 minutes late in the afternoon.
“Every week the railway has mega-blocks, besides the regular late night maintenance. Then how do such incidents keep happening? Who is responsible for our loss of time?” said Vishal Shinde, a commuter who works with a consultancy firm.
The bogie of the train derailed at 4.05 am because the railway track was not properly cleared of the ballast that was unloaded for the ongoing maintenance. The Accident Relief train was ordered immediately and arrived at 5.50 am. The rerailment work was completed at 7 am and the track was declared safe at 7.15 am.
Narendra Patil, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway said that an inquiry had been ordered. “It seems to be a case of negligence while unloading the ballast,” Patil said. Prabhat Sahai, MD, MRVC, the agency carrying out the work at CST, said it would be clear who bore responsibility for the incident after the inquiry.
