Train no 12130 Pune-bound Azad Hind Express derailed near Nagpur Railway Station on Thursday. A major tragedy was averted as the train was moving at a low speed when three wheels of the locomotive moved off the track at Diamond Crossing while aligning to arrive at Platform no. 3. The travellers felt a jerk and for a while they panicked when the locomotive jumped off the track. Confirming the development, V C Thool, Divisional Commercial Manager and Official Spokesperson, Central Railway, Nagpur Division, said, the derailment is a minor incident. Around 6 pm the three front wheels of the locomotive jumped the track.

 

No one was injured nor was there any major damage to the equipment, he added. Movement of trains in yard is under caution order and hence in spite of derailment not much damage occurred. Since the train was being admitted for berthing, the speed near D cabin is between 10 and 30 km/hr and hence the moment wheels moved off, emergency brakes were applied by the crew. The train crew alerted the Operations Control who sounded the hooter, that signals emergency. Accident Relief Train (ART) crew assembled at the Nagpur Yard and they attended to the Azad Hind Express. After primary survey and photography, it comes later handy to determine cause of derailment, the crew started re-railing operations. Azad Hind Express rolled on to Platform no. 3 at around 7.30 pm.

 

For travellers, it was a horrid time as the train was already running quite behind the schedule owing to technical problems and started loosing time from Chakradharpur station. The train’s scheduled arrival at Nagpur station is 3.55 pm, but it arrived around 6 pm and thereafter lost further two hours due to the derailment. The train later arrived at Platform no. 6. The Platforms no. 3 and 4 at Nagpur Railway Station caters to movement of trains in East-West-East direction of the country. As the cross-over got blocked, several incoming trains from Kalumna and Itwari got detained at various sections over neighbouring South East Central Railway (SECR) Nagpur Division, it is learnt.

 

Meanwhile, a statutory inquiry will be conducted to determine cause of the derailment and fix the responsibility on department concerned. The spot where derailment occurred is notorious and it was quite infamous in past for such type of incidents. After internal discussions and deliberations, the Diamond Crossing was refitted with steel plates to replace the wooden sleepers. This was done about a decade back and since then no derailment was reported at the said site where a nullah also criss-crosses from Western side of station towards Eastern side.