Overhead cable falls on CR local near Kalyan, injures 2 commuters

Glitch hits services on the local and long-distance tracks for three hours

Two women travelling on the footboard of a local train were injured when an overhead wire fell on the train between Vitthalwadi and Kalyan stations on Wednesday morning. Ruchika Sabhagani, 23, and Nisha Kulkarni, 25, were on their way to work and were taken to Railway Hospital in Kalyan, where their injuries were treated. Both have been discharged. The incident disrupted train services, both long distance and local, for more than three hours. Commuters were forced to walk on railway tracks to reach the nearest station.

Commuters were forced to walk to Kalyan station after an overhead wire snapped on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Around 8.30am, an overhead wire fell on a ladies compartment of a Badlapur-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) local train between Vithalwadi and Kalyan stations on Central Railway (CR). Sabhagani and Kulkarni were standing on the train’s footboard and were injured when the wire snapped and fell on them while the train was moving. The train was stopped after the incident.

Sabhagani is a physiotherapist and was travelling to Thane for work. Kulkarni works in a bank and had been on her way to her office in Dombivli. Sabhagani sustained injuries on her forehead while Kulkarni’s hand was injured in the incident.

“Ruchika boarded the local from Ulhasnagar. After the wire hit her, she was unconscious for some time. She doesn’t remember what happened. With help from commuters and the railway police, she was brought to the Railway Hospital in Kalyan,” said Sabhagani’s sister, Priyanka. A relative of Kulkarni’s said she was presently stable.