Goods train derails near Mumbai, traffic affected

MUMBAI: Seven wagons of a goods train derailed at Palghar railway station in Maharashtra on Tuesday evening, affecting the traffic of Mumbai-bound trains coming from Gujarat, a railway spokesperson said here.

The incident took place around 5.10 pm and no casualties were reported, he said. Efforts were on to restore the traffic on the affected line, said Sumit Thakur, chief PRO, Western Railway. 

Accident Relief Trains (ART) from Nandurbar, Udhna, Bandra Terminus and Valsad are on the way", he told PTI.

The goods train with 43 wagons and carrying iron coils was heading to Karambeli in Gujarat from Visakhapatnam. As per railway sources, seven wagons including the guard's van from the rear end derailed, and some of them fell on their sides with iron coils thrown off over the tracks. Due to the impact of the derailed wagons and coils, the tracks and overhead equipment suffered major damage, and the full restoration of traffic on the busy Mumbai-Delhi trunk route was likely to take several hours, they added.

The traffic of both long-distance and the Western Railway's suburban trains in the Mumbai region was affected, causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters.

The 12936 Surat-Mumbai Intercity train was terminated at Vapi, while 16505 Gandhidham-SBC (KSR Bengaluru) Express, 12432 Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express and 19260 Bhavnagar-Kochuveli Express were diverted via Surat-Udhna-Jalgaon-Kalyan route, Thakur said. Six up and five down Dahanu locals were cancelled. WR has announced following helpline numbers for passengers: Vapi Station - 0260-2462341, Surat Station - 0261-2401797 and Udhna Station - 022-67641801.