As part of its elaborate pre-monsoon exercise, the Konkan Railway had inspected boulders jutting along the tracks; however in the wee hours of Saturday, a recalcitrant boulder cut loose from the soil and crashed onto a moving Goa-bound Rajdhani Express while it was inside a tunnel. This led to derailment of 02414 Hazarat Nizamuddin-Madgaon at around 4.15am.
According to officials from the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), the incident occurred inside Karbude tunnel in Ratnagiri District. The train was carrying 309 passengers but nobody was injured. The KRCL officials said that extensive geo-safety works executed in the past few years had significantly reduced the incidence of boulder fall and soil slippage; and there had been no major disruption in the last eight years during monsoon.
“We had carried out extensive work of identifying and cutting boulders which were then integrated with the hill. This incident happened inside the tunnel. We will carry out a detailed investigation in the matter,” said an official from KRCL.
The front wheel of the locomotive of the superfast special train going to Madgaon in Goa derailed in Karbude tunnel between Ukshi and Bhoke stations which led to disruption of railway traffic on the route. A rail maintenance vehicle (RMV) and an accident relief medical van (ARMV) with re-railing equipment were rushed to the spot for the restoration work. The restoration work of the derailed train was completed and the track fit certificate was issued at 8.18am. The train then began its journey towards Madgaon at 9.14am and the traffic on Konkan Railway was finally restored at 10.27am.
KRCL has asked loco pilots to run trains at reduced speeds of 40 kmph during low visibility. The ARMVs with operation theatres and emergency medical aid have been kept ready at Ratnagiri and Verna. Emergency communication sockets are provided at almost every kilometre of the track to enable patrolmen as well as crew to contact station masters and control room. All main signal aspects are now equipped with LEDs for improved visibility.
Self-recording rain gauges at nine stations, flood warning system on three bridges that frequently witness flash floods and anemometers at four locations to gauge wind speed, are among the other safety measures taken by the KRCL.