In yet another railway mishap, the locomotive and nine coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Asangaon and Vashind stations on the Central Railway (CR) route, nearly 90 km from downtown Mumbai.

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

The reason of the derailment is breaching of tracks because of a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall.

The 12290 Nagpur-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai train derailed between 0636 hrs.

As a result of the derailment, the local train suburban services between Kalyan-Kasara on went haywire. The full restoration of the line would be possible only by the wee hours of Wednesday.

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.

We heard a huge bang: passengers

“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 on the train. “We are now walking along the tracks,” Tiwari told Deccan Herald as he walked to look for alternative means of transport.

Driver and technology saved the day

The driver of the locomotive and the German-technology LHB coaches saved the day for Central Railway. In fact, just before the incident, a few trains have passed from the same route. The train was under the command of Virendra Singh. “The driver had shown an extreme level of alertness,” CR general manager DK Sharma said after inspecting the site. Besides, the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany – and produced at Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala, help reduce the impact. They are considered to be "anti-telescopic", which means they do not get turned over or flip in case of a collision (chiefly head-on). These coaches are made of stainless steel and the interiors are made of aluminium which make them lighter as compared to conventional rakes.

Minister briefed

Top CR officials have briefed Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis 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.

BACK-TO-BACK RAILWAY MISHAPS

18 August: Nearly 23 passengers died and over 150 injured when Utkal Express from Puri to Haridwar has derailed at Khatauli, Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

21 August: Three passengers were injured when a boulder came crashing down on one of the compartments of the Hubli-Mumbai CSTM Express at the Monkey Hill ghat section in Lonavala near Pune.

23 August: More than 75 passengers were injured when the Kaifiyat Express from- Azamgarh to New Delhi, derailed in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh

25 August: Five commuters were injured when a Mumbai local train’s four coaches derailed at Mahim – the intersection point of Central Railway and Western Railway suburban services

Nine bogies of Duronto Express derail near Mumbai