Trains still not running between Mumbai and Pune

CR yet to commission ghat section

Train services between Mumbai and Pune remained suspended for a fourth straight day as the Central Railway (CR) could not commission the ghat section between Karjat and Panvel on Wednesday.

The downpour received by the region on August 3 and 4 damaged the tracks on the ghat section at several locations, rendering all three lines on the section inoperable. CR officials said teams have been working continuously over the past three days at every location.

“There have been spots where the ballast has been washed away and we have had to pack the soil under the tracks. However, the tracks are still sinking,” a senior railway official said.

The region has received continuous rainfall over the past few days, making the restoration work harder. Railway officials said near Nagnath station, the course of a spring had changed due to the landslides and water was now running onto the tracks. “There are also cases of water finding new routes below the soil, making the tracks unstable,” a senior railway official said.

On Wednesday, over two dozen long-distance passenger trains had to be cancelled and several others were terminated at Pune. CR officials said that they would be in a position to commission the line by Thursday afternoon.

CR also had to cancel a few trains to areas along the Konkan coast and Goa as a result of the landslide between Apta and Jite stations on Sunday. A Konkan Railway spokesperson said services on the section would soon be normalised.

Konkan Railway services were also affected on Wednesday due to waterlogging at Kudal station, while rumours spread regarding a major landslide near Karwar. “We have clarified that it was fake news. There were no instances of landslides on Wednesday. Trains were held up for a little over an hour due to waterlogging at Kudal,” said Girish Karandikar, spokesperson, Konkan Railway. He said they had decided to lodge a complaint with the police against persons who were spreading such fake news.

Source: Read Full Article