Track damaged in derailment near Nashik restored after 23 hours

The rail track damaged due to derailment of the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Jaynagar Pawan Express near Nashik in Maharashtra was restored for operation on Monday afternoon after over 23 hours, leading to the resumption of services on the restored track, the Central Railway said.

It took more than 23 hours for the Central Railway to remove the derailed coaches from the badly damaged 300-metre section of the track.

Twelve of the 22 coaches of the Pawan Express derailed between Lahavit and Devlali stations in the Central Railway's Bhusaval division at 3.10 pm on Sunday, leaving three persons injured.

"The affected track is declared safe and maintenance vehicles were cleared from the site. Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur Express (11055) was the first train in the Down direction to cross the restored section," said Shivaji Sutar, chief PRO, Central Railway.

Earlier in the day, Sutar had said that four earth-moving machines and 500 workers worked at the spot to ensure the speedy restoration of the damaged track.

Train movements were earlier started in both (Up and Down) directions from the Up railway line parallel to the damaged track.

According to the Central Railway, all the trains departing from Mumbai and passing through Nashik, after the Lucknow-bound Pushpak Express, are being run on their regular route and have not been diverted since Monday morning.

The CR has re-railed two of the 12 derailed coaches while the rest 10 bogies were removed from the track. Of them, eight unaffected coaches were taken to Nashik with passengers.