Train derails again near CSMT during trial run

Mumbai: Two days after a Harbour line train derailed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) while switching tracks, the coach of an empty rake went off the tracks at the same spot on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when Central Railway (CR) authorities were conducting a trial run to test the efficacy of improvements made on the tracks after the April 29 incident. As the empty rake approached platform 2 of CSMT from Masjid station, two wheels of its front coach derailed around 4.10 pm.

CR had scheduled a block from 2 pm to 4 pm on Wednesday, a public holiday, for the repair work and trial run but was forced to cancel 14 services due to the derailment. The inquiry report on the first derailment is expected later this week.

After the first derailment, CR had imposed a speed restriction of 10 kmph at the crossover point connecting platforms 1 and 2 of CSMT, where trains switch tracks. “We conducted a trial at 15 kmph after attending to the defective spot and carrying out maintenance work on tracks, when this empty rake derailed. All the staff was present there and immediately started the restoration work,” said a CR official.

Due to the derailment, CR had to put CSMT’s platforms 1 and 2 out of use, with Panvel-bound trains on the Harbour line being directed to platform 3. Dr Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, explained that the tracks near CSMT have a special layout that requires additional maintenance. “It is a regular practice to conduct trial runs after completing the correction of defects,” he said.

The derailed coach was re-railed at 6.25 pm and arrived on platform 2 by 6.40, after which CR’s engineering staff began repair works on the tracks. Despite the planned rail block, CR had to cancel 14 services due to the derailment.