Title - Goods train derails at Sarona, affects traffic

RAIPUR: Two wagons of a goods train carrying coal derailed at Sarona on Friday morning, disrupting rail traffic on Mumbai-Howrah up and down line. According to railway officials, traffic will resume on this section from midnight as repair on one track would be completed. At least four trains were cancelled while five others were halted at Bilaspur, Raipur and Nagpur railway stations. Talking to TOI, Ratan Basak, PRO, railway division said, "Two wagons of a goods train from Nagpur to Raipur derailed at Urkura-Sarona by-pass around 10.30 am in the morning. He said, senior officials from Raipur division rushed to the site and were trying to ascertain cause of the accident. The local trains cancelled were Raipur-Durg Memu, Raipur-Itwari passenger, Raipur-Gevraroad Memu, Raipur-Dongargarh Memu. The other trains that were cancelled are Raigarh-Gondiya Janshatabdi which was terminated at Raipur while Nagpur-Bilaspur inter-city was terminated at Durg. Dallirajhara-Raipur express was terminated at Durg and Gondiya-Raipur was stopped at Kumhari. The Vishakhapatnam-Durg passenger was also terminated at Raipur.

Many express plying on the route were stopped for hours at Raipur and Durg railway stations while some were run on alternate routes. The trains that were diverted include Howrah-Pune Azadhind express, Howrah LTT, Gyaneshwari which headed via Uslapur-Katni-Bhopal-Itarsi-Khandwa. Howrah-Mumbai Duranto express and Hatia-LTT express was run through Bilaspur-Katni-Bina,Bhopal-Itarsi-Khanwa route while Howrah-Ahmedabad express from Tilda station started towards Uslapur-Katni and further routes.

P S Mishra, divisional railway manager (DRM), has ordered a probe into the incident.

Renu Thawait, one of the passengers who was going to Bilaspur from Nagpur for an examination, had to get off the train at Raipur station. "I will have to now shell extra amount to hire a taxi or bus to Bilaspur," she said. Another passenger Dilip Chandravanshi, an engineer, who had to get down at Raipur while on way to Raigarh to meet his ailing father said, Now, I will have to postpone plan to shift my father to another city for treatment as the railway line is down.