Ten bogies of Duronto Express derails; Trains on Konkan route cancelled, diverted

Ten bogies of Duronto Express derails; Trains on Konkan route cancelled, diverted

Panaji : Ten bogies of the Lokamanya Tilak Terminus-Ernakulum Duronto Express derailed near Balli railway station in South Goa today, but no casualties have been reported so far.

‘Ten coaches of the train derailed at 6.30 am near Balli station. No passengers were injured,’ Konkan Railway Corporation Limited spokesman Baban Ghatge said.

The train had left Lokmanya Tilak Terminal in Mumbai and was heading towards Ernakulum. Ghatge said that trains on Konkan.

Railway routes will be delayed due to the derailment, while work is on to salvage the bogies which went off the track.

The Railways announced cancellation and diversion of some trains on the Konkan route following derailment of 10 coaches of Lokmanya Tilak—Ernakulam Duronto Express near Sarzora Tunnel between Madgaon and Balli stations in Karwar region.

Train No 12015, Madgaon—Ernakulam express, scheduled to leave Madgaon at 2130 hrs today has been cancelled.

Trains which have been diverted include Train No. 16337, Okha—Ernakulam Express scheduled to reach Ernakulam at 22.20 hrs today, Train No.02065, Mumbai CST—Ernakulam Premium special train scheduled to reach Ernakulam at 3 AM tomorrow morning, Train No.22634, Nizamuddin—Thiruvananthapuram central Weekly superfast express via Alappuzha scheduled to reach Thiruvananthapuram central at 02.30 am tomorrow and Tr.No.11097,Pune—Ernakulam express, Scheduled to reach Ernakulam junction at 04 am tomorrow.

Following the mishap, train No 56640 Mangalore-Madgaon and Train No 10216 Ernakulam-Madgaon will remain cancelled on Monday. Train number 22635 Madgaon-Mangalore; 70101 Madgaon-Karwar; 10215 Madgaon-Ernakulam and 56641 Madgaon-Mangalore and  Train No. 12224 Ernakulam junction – Lokmanya Tilak Express were cancelled on Sunday.

Trains that were partially cancelled are: Train No 56640 Mangalore Central – Madgaon; Train No 12133 Mumbai CSTM- Mangalore Junction Express; Train No.12134 Mangalore Junction – Mumbai CSTM  Express.

Train No 16337 Okha – Ernakulam; 02065 CSTM-Ernakulam; 22634 Nizamuddin-Trivandrum;  11097 Pune-Ernakulam and 16312 Kochuveli-Bikaner were diverted. Konkan Railway officials are working on war footing at the affected site for bringing about an early restoration. As many as 155 labourers and about 100 KR officials, including Director (Operating and Commercial) Sanjay Gupta – and the Principal Chief Engineer – Rajesh Agarwal, are at the site to attend to re-railment of coaches and restoration of the track under the guidance of CMD/KRCL, Bhanu Prakash Tayal.

Meanwhile, the passengers in the 10 coaches of the derailed train continued their journey by the unaffected coaches of the same train and buses as well. The Konkan Railway had arranged five buses for passengers and paid Rs 2,56,255 in refund to the passengers who did not wish to continue their journey by train. Though partial refund is admissible for remaining part of the journey which has been cancelled, the KRCL as a special gesture, has permitted full refund of the fare to the passengers.

Passengers may contact 022–27587939 for train inquiry. Train positions on the route can also be viewed on www.konkanrailway.com