Mumbai: WR services disrupted as train derails between Andheri and Vile Parle

At least four commuters including a woman were injured and Mumbais lifeline the suburban trains services were badly hit when eight coaches of a train derailed between Vile Parle and Andheri here on Tuesday officials saidThe injured were rushed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations BMC Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle While one Sudhir Swaminathan 30 was admitted three others were allowed to go after treatment said officialsAll pics Rane AshishIt was around 11 am when the packedtocapacity train from Virar bound for Churchgate on the Western Railway WR jumped the tracks with a thundering sound as the motorman driver applied emergency brakesAccording to witnesses the motormans alertness to apply the emergency brakes may have helped avert a major tragedy Fortunately there was no other train coming from the opposite directionThe derailment took place at 1103 am As the speed of the train was slow no injuries were reported said a WR spokespersonThe train had left Virar around 956 am and was jampacked by the time it reached Andheri where the derailment occurredSeven coaches of a Churchgatebound fast train that started from Virar slipped off the tracks soon after it left Andheri station The incident took place near the Parle biscuit factory after which many people were seen walking on tracksAccording to tentative estimates it may take around 24 hours before complete normalcy was restored spelling a blow to the advance shopping for the 10day Ganeshotsav festival starting in the state from ThursdayThe mishap hit not only suburban train schedules but also longdistance trains from Mumbai going towards Gujarat New Delhi and Jammu and KashmirOfficials said several longdistance trains scheduled to depart from Bandra LTT Dadar and Mumbai Central railway stations were being rescheduled on account of delays These included Rajdhani Express August Kranti Rajdhani Express and Karnavati Express among othersSimilarly several inbound trains from destinations across the country were being terminated at Borivali Vasai or Virar stations and being returned from those stationsThe suburban train services were badly affected on the busy route due to the derailmentTrains on the Western Railway were running late by 30 minutes as only the slow line was operationalA team of engineers and rescue officials have rushed to the spot to restore the services the CPRO said An inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the derailment Chief Public Relations Officer CPRO Western Railway Sharat Chandrayan told PTIThe WR suburban section suffered cancellation of a number of local train services resulting in massive crowds of commuters at all stations beween Virar and Churchgate in both directionsThe effects of the derailment spilled over to the Central Railway Harbour Line with delays and cancellations in services besides the two highways passing through the city and other roads as people plumped for alternate modes of transport to reach their destinationsThe citys public transport utility BEST was asked to deploy additional buses to clear the stranded commuters even as massive traffic jams were witnessed on both the highways and other main and arterial roads across the cityThis is the second derailment on the Mumbai suburban sector in barely 18 hoursLate on Monday evening three coaches of a train from Bandra derailed while entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus badly hitting homebound peakhour commuters on the Central RailwayAngry commuters demanded the resignation of the WR general manager and other officials for failing to ensure safety and security of commuters with such frequent accidents on their beatHarbour line derailment A local train coming from Bandra had last evening derailed on the Harbour Line of Central Railway while entering the platform at Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus CST causing inconvenience to commuters during the peak hours Read full storySuburban harbour line services both up and down were yesterday suspended between CST and Wadala Road Station owing to the mishapWith inputs from agencies