Panipat, June 7
Hundreds of passengers remained stranded for several hours as train services on the Delhi-Ambala rail division were disrupted following derailment of 15 bogeys of a goods train near Gharonda town in Karnal district early this morning.
The accident took place at 4.45 a.m, when the goods train carrying wheat bags was on its way from Kaithal to Delhi. As the train reached Kohand village in Panipat, 15 bogeys derailed. The exact cause of the accident was not known but official sources revealed that poor maintenance of the rail track might be the reason of the accident.
The accident caused inconvenience to a number of daily commuters. At least 10 trains were cancelled and routes of several others were changed. Later the Railway authorities arranged for a special passenger train from Panipat to Delhi in the morning hours to help the passengers reach their destinations. Two senior officers of the railways, Mr P.K Goyal, and Mr P.R Jhakar, reached the spot. Cranes and a number of railway employees (gangmen) were called to lift the damaged compartments. The railway
authorities also set up a temporary office for the fact-finding committee to inquire into the cause of the derailment. The trains which were stranded at different stations due to the derailment included Uchahar, Dadar, Himalayan Queen, Malwa Express and a number of goods trains.
AMBALA: Train traffic on the Ambala-Delhi mainline was thrown out of gear following the derailment of a goods train at Gharonda early this morning.
A number of passenger trains, including the Shatabadi, were running behind schedule. As the Up line as well as the Down line had been affected, all the trains had to be diverted.
Due to the derailment, the trains from Delhi were diverted through Saharanpur and Dhuri. The trains from Saharanpur which were running late included train number 4517, 4095, 2925 and 2011. The trains diverted via Dhuri include train number 2497, 2029, 9367, 1057 Dadar, 5707 Barauni and 2471 superfast.
The trains headed for Delhi, including train no 4660 superfast, were diverted through Jakhal. The trains diverted towards Saharanpur from Ambala include 5708 Barauni, 2716 Sachkhand, 1078 Jhelum, 2006 Shatabadi and 4732 Bhatinda-Delhi Intercity. The trains headed for Delhi are also likely to reach their destination late.
Mr AK Singhal, a passenger who alighted at the Ambala Cantt railway station, said that he had a business appointment at Ambala and he had got delayed. "I have to buy some products and I was hoping to finish my task early but it seems that my plans have gone haywire due to the delay," he said.
Mr Rastogi, who had to go to Panipat, said he had to change his plans. "I was planning to catch a train for Panipat but now this is not possible. I will now have to take a bus for Panipat," he
stated.
