1.6K Mumbai-bound train passengers rescued at Kasara
Around 1,600 passengers of Pawan Express that operates between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Jayanagar in Bihar were rescued after three hours of operation by the Central Railway (CR) on Thursday
Around 1,600 passengers of Pawan Express that operates between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Jayanagar in Bihar were rescued after three hours of operation by the Central Railway (CR) on Thursday.
As torrential rain hit Maharashtra on Thursday, causing floods in different parts of the state, the train connectivity of the city with the rest of India was also disrupted.
Heavy rain led to landslide, mud and boulder falls across CR, particularly in the Bhor and Thul ghats between Ambernath and Lonavala and Titwala-Igatpuri railway sections.
Pawan Express that was enroute Mumbai got stuck between a landslide at one end and track washout on the other end near the Kasara Ghat section, late on Wednesday night amid heavy, continuous rainfall.
“We sent an engine to pull the express out of the ghat section and bring it to a nearby station. However, when the engine reached the spot, we noticed that the tracks had been washed out due to heavy rainfall,” said a senior CR official.
A team of 50 CR officials were sent to the site, where they worked on track restoration by ballasting and laying of rail sleepers. After three hours, the team managed to restore the tracks.
“The location presented a lot of challenges. There was no road approach, and it was raining heavily continuously, and there was low visibility as it was night. Breach restoration was done by mobilising all the resources, manpower and machines to make the track fit,” added the official.
The train was safely moved to Igatpuri railway station at 6.00am on Thursday.
CR located disruptions at 21 spots on Thursday due to waterlogging on railway tracks, washing out of tracks, boulders falling and rivers flowing over danger levels.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) operated 133 buses between Igatpuri, Kasara and Kalyan to ferry passengers back to Mumbai.