Mumbai: Three struck by stones from track ballast after train runs over cattle

Three passengers who were standing on the south end of platform 1 were hit by the flying stones.

Three persons were struck by stones that flew loose from the track ballast — the trackbed on which railway lines are laid — at a railway station Wednesday morning. The incident occurred when the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express ran over cattle, which had wandered onto the tracks while crossing level gate crossing no. 66, near Umargam Road Station at 8.15 am.

The Shatabdi Express, which does not have a halt at Umargam Road Station, was likely plying at more than 100 kmph when it hit the cattle, railway officials said. The cattle’s carcass got stuck in the train’s wheels and was dragged for 300 metres before it was dislodged and fell out of the train’s path, a senior official from Western Railway said. It was due to the collision followed by the drag that the ballast, comprising stones on the railway bed, flew loose.

Three passengers who were standing on the south end of platform 1 were hit by the flying stones. One man, Kamlesh, was rushed to a healthcare centre after he received a cut below his right knee. He was discharged after preliminary treatment while the two other passengers suffered minor bruises and left the station on their own. An inquiry has been ordered by the general manager of WR and a report will be submitted in two days. A doctor has also been included in the committee which is to submit the report. The incident delayed the Shatabdi Express by six minutes.