Rail tracks sink near Mumbai, 2 coaches of Valsad train inch towards platform
Mumbai city news: The train, which was packed with office commuters, was evacuated, and all Mumbai-bound traffic was diverted to another platform.
Two Monthly Season Ticket (MST) coaches of the 59024 Up Valsad-Mumbai Central Fast Passenger train inched dangerously close to Platform 3 at Boisar railway station on Thursday at 7am due to sinking of the rail tracks, which was a result of waterlogging owing to the heavy rains which lashed Palghar district since the past two days. The train, which was packed with office commuters, was evacuated, and all Mumbai-bound traffic was diverted to Platform 1.
The Down traffic (towards Ahmedabad) on Platform 2 remained unaffected. All Mumbai-bound train, however, were delayed for sometime.
“The Valsad train departed for its onward journey at 8.25am, and a 30kmph speed limit has been ordered as engineering staff are track lifting the spot,” said Ravinder Bhakar,chief public relations officer, Western railway.
Chetan Sankhe, a software engineer with a bank and a Boisar resident, said he regularly boards the Valsad train for work .”I felt a stong jerk when we boearded the train on Thursday. We got down from the train only to find the 2 MST coaches tilting towards the platform,” said Sankhe.
“Just then, announcements were made asking us to evacuate the train ,and board the Mumbai-bound locals from Platform 1 till further notice,” he said.
According to Bhakar, the tracks sunk due to waterlogging as the said spot is located on a low-lying area. “Since the past few days, Palghar district received heavy rainfall, which flooded the rail tracks,” said Bhakar.
“As a precautionary measure, we evacuated the Valsad train. The engineering staff the started work on track lifting by filling stone ballasts to prevent waterlogging,” he said.
Boisar station is prone to waterlogging during monsoon as it is located on a lowlying area and we are track lifting on an emergency level, said another WR official.