Mathura train derailment: Traffic on one line restored

Mathura: With the restoration of one of the railway lines, rail traffic between Delhi and Mathura that was disrupted due to derailment of a goods train has started, officials said on Friday.

Rail traffic on three lines was disturbed due to the derailment of the goods train on Wednesday between Vrindaban road and Ajhai stations of Mathura-Palwal section of NCR .

"The traffic on the third line was restored at 10.30 pm on Thursday, when a goods train coming from the Delhi side passed through it," Prashasti Srivastava, DCM and PRO DRM office Agra of NCR, said.

"After the restoration of the third line, traffic on the UP and DOWN line is going smoothly. A number of trains coming from the Delhi side have so far passed through the third line," she said.

However, the work to restore the first and second line is still on, officials said, and added that "it will take some time to restore both the tracks." Since the first three lines were disturbed due to derailment of a goods train, only down traffic passed through the fourth line.

"The railways had either to cancel some trains or the route of dozens of trains was diverted," officials added.

The derailment had impacted services of around 30 trains on the route. Nearly 500 workers have been deployed for the job of clearing the tracks.

Divisional Railway Manager, Agra Division, Tej Prakash Agarwal on Wednesday had told reporters that traffic on three railway lines was interrupted due to the derailment.

"Twenty-five wagons of the train taking coal to Suratgarh power plant (in Rajasthan) derailed after Vrindavan yard," Agarwal said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

General Manager of North Central Railway, Upendra Chandra Joshi had said, "Our priority is to clear the track first, and then we will focus on other aspects." While the exact cause of the derailment remains undetermined, officials are not ruling out any possibilities, including sabotage, he had said.

"It is difficult to disclose the basic cause of derailment at this time. After the formation of the inquiry committee, all angles will be examined," he had added.

Joshi had said the necessary equipment, machines and ART (accident relief train), has been requisitioned from Agra, Delhi, and Moradabad to expedite the repair process. PTI COR NAV DV DV