16 wagons of goods train derail

Pune Mirror | Apr 23, 2015,

The incident occurred around 109 km away from Pune; (below) the train was carrying sugar

Guwahati-bound train went off tracks near Adarki, affecting services; 8 long-distance trains to be diverted via Daund; officials yet to ascertain cause

A goods train which derailed near Adarki in Satara, 109 km from Pune, around 5 am caused disruption of services on the Pune-Kolhapur section on Wednesday. Railway officials are still trying to find out what caused the derailment. The most severely affected were the north and southbound long-distance trains, which had to be diverted via Daund.

Sixteen of the 42 wagons of the sugar-loaded train, which was headeding towards New Guwahati station, got derailed. However, railway officials confirmed that there were no casualties. "Efforts are under way to restore the track. It will be fixed on Thursday and trains will run as per schedule," said an official.

A senior official of the Pune division, who requested anonymity, said trains were diverted as it takes time to clear the bogies from the track. "A special counter has been set up at Pune station to guide passengers. Affected passengers were accommodated in trains headed to Daund. Refund was also made available for those wishing to cancel their tickets," he said.

As many as eight long-distance trains had to be diverted via Daund station. The affected trains were Sampark Kranti Express, Yeshwantpur Express, Jodhpur Express (both up and down), Nizamuddin-Vasco da Gama Express, Puducherry-Dadar Express, Mahalaxmi Express, Sahyadri Express and the Hubli-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Express.

As a result, passengers who had reserved their tickets from Pune sta-tion, needed to reach Daund to board their respective trains. Chaitanya Patwardhan, who was travelling to Delhi on the Nizamuddin Express, said it was inconvenient to travel to Daund and then switch platforms with luggage. "We had no other option. This being a peak season, all trains were packed. It was not possible to make an alternative arrangement."

Raju Shinde, who had reserved tickets from Chennai for Pune on the Puducherry-Dadar express, said, all inter-city trains between Daund and Pune were overcrowded. "It took us three hours to reach Pune from Daund," he said. It usually takes about an hour.

The incident also caused at least three regional trains to be cancelled — Mumbai-Kolhapur-Mumbai Koyna Express, Pune-Satara and Wathar- Pune passengers. The Gondia-Kolhapur Maharashtra Express was terminated at Pune.