Panaji: The train services on Konkan
Railway route were resumed after torrential rains in the
region triggered a major landslide in Ratnagiri sector of
Maharashtra that thrown the traffic out of gear for nearly
twelve hours, affecting scores of commuters heading for
upcoming Ganesh festival.
The train services remained disrupted throughout the
day and the schedule could be normalised only in the evening,
twelve hours after the wall collapse was noticed in the
morning, Konkan Railway officials said.
The wall collapse was noticed at around 8.15 am
following which the traffic was immediately suspended on the
route connecting the coastal region to Mumbai in north and
Karwar in south, they said.
Incessant rains have hit the Konkan belt since last
three days.
Konkan Railway Corporation Limited's (KRCL's) Chief
Public Relations Officer Siddheshwar Telugu said that a wall
had collapsed at around 8.20 am near Pomendi between Ratnagiri
and Nivsar railway sections.
Following the incident, some trains on the route were
regulated between various stations on Konkan Railway, while
some were diverted via Panvel, Pune, Miraj, Londa and vice
versa, he said, adding the tracks were cleared at 7 pm as the
work was taken up on war footing.
The landslide had left several hundred people, who
were returning back to their homes from Mumbai to celebrate
ten-day Ganesh festival stranded throughout the day.
KRCL has been running special trains to clear the
festive rush from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai
to Madgao (Goa) since August 28.
The corporation has also augmented coaches on its
existing trains for the purpose.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 23:09