21:52
Nine days after landslides disrupted rail traffic on the Mumbai-Pune route, the Central Railway has restored the second railway line in the Karjat-Lonavala ghat section, officials said on Wednesday.
The Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen and Intercity Express will resume services from Thursday, they added.
In a release, the Central Railway said that the South East Down line between Karjat and Lonavala was restored late on Tuesday night following round-the-clock efforts after landslides hit the mountainous section on July 6.
Only the third line -- the Up line -- remains to be restored. The track suffered extensive damage in the landslides, and restoration was difficult due to the terrain and may take a few more days, the CR said.
After three goods trains successfully travelled on the restored track, the CSMT-Latur Express became the first passenger train to pass through the section.
It departed from Karjat at 11.18 pm on Tuesday, negotiated the affected stretch at a speed of 20 kmph and reached Lonavala at 12.27 am on Wednesday, the Central Railway said.
The CSMT-Pune-CSMT Deccan Queen and CSMT-Pune-CSMT Intercity Express will resume services from July 16, officials said.
More than 1,200 labourers besides engineers, supervisors and senior officers were engaged in the restoration work which included removal of debris and reconstruction of the damaged track. Heavy machinery, including boulder special trains, Unimat and Duomatic track machines, Poclain excavators and JCBs were pressed into service, officials said. -- PTI
