Nagpur: The passengers of 18029 LTT-Shalimar Express had a miraculous escape when the S2 coach and parcel van derailed at a crossover between Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Station and Kalamna in Nagpur on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, none of the passengers was injured. The incident took place at 2.15 pm, shortly after the train departed from Nagpur Railway Station.
The parcel van, which was the third compartment from the engine, and the S2 sleeper coach, positioned as the 12th from the engine, derailed while the other coaches remained unaffected. The South East Central Railway (SECR) has formed a committee to investigate the causes of the accident and determine whether the derailment was due to issues with the coach, parcel van, or the tracks.
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Thursday 21 Nov. 2024
As a result of the derailment, the Shalimar Express was stranded at Kalamna for nearly 8 hours while a massive operation to restore traffic was underway. To prevent further complications, two coaches, S2 and S1, along with the parcel van, were removed from the train. As a precautionary measure, an additional coach was kept ready at Gondia in case of an emergency.
The SECR officials promptly responded to the situation by acquiring two additional coaches from Ajni under the Nagpur Central Railway, and dispatching them to Kalamna. However, the derailment caused significant delays to at least a dozen incoming and outgoing trains.
Trains such as the Kolhapur-Gondia Maharashtra Express, which typically passes through Itwari station, were rerouted through Pachpaoli tracks. Several mail/express trains, including the 12994 Puri-Gandhidham, 12106 Gondia-CSMT Vidarbha, 11753 Itwari-Rewa, Itwari-Gondia Memu, and even freight movement, came to a standstill.
Many trains were detained at various stations due to the incident. The SECR spokesperson assured that passengers were provided food and drinking water during the delay. Immediately after receiving information about the accident, an accident relief train (ART) was dispatched to the location.
Senior officials, including DRM Namita Tripathi, ADRMs SP Chandrikapure and GV Jagtap, Sr DCM Dilip Singh, and Sr DOM Vishal Garg, were present at the site to monitor the situation and oversee the restoration efforts.
Trains travelling between Nagpur and Kalamna have been instructed to proceed with caution. To keep passengers informed about train delays, helplines were set up at Nagpur, Itwari, Gondia, Dongargarh, and Rajnandgaon stations under Nagpur Division.
Experts have expressed surprise over the occurrence of this mishap, particularly because in August, the SECR had remodelled the entire Kalamna Station. The remodelling work involved adding 14 new points, removing 8 old points, and installing 14 crossovers. The SECR officials had made ambitious claims that these modifications would help remove capacity constraints, ease congestion, and enhance safety. However, the derailment incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of these measures and the overall safety of the railway infrastructure.
