PUNE, June 28: Rail traffic on the Pune-Lonavla section affected on Saturday due to derailment of a goods wagon was restored early Sunday morning. However, passengers travelling by several express trains were put through the wringer as their schedule went haywire.Passengers travelling by the prestigious Deccan Queen and Pragati Express faced a 11-hour ordeal. The trains which had left Mumbai on Saturday evening reached Pune in the early hours of Sunday.
The derailment of a Pune-bound goods wagon between Malavali and Kamshet stations around 3.55 pm on Saturday threw the rail traffic off gear. Several trains had to be detained en route as only a single line was in operation. The down line was cleared around 4.15 am.
Irate local train commuters had on Saturday pelted stones at Kamshet station as a Pune-Lonavla local train (L-18) returned to Pune from Kamshet. The passengers earlier demanded that they be allowed to travel by the Udyan Express up to stations between Talegaon and Lonavla. As their demand was not considered and instead the Mumbai-bound Shatabdi Express was allowed to proceed first, the commuters squatted on the tracks and blocked the train. At least four compartments of the train were damaged as the window panes were broken. However, no one was injured in the incident. The railway staff at Kamshet also bore the brunt of the irate commuters.
Passengers travelling by the Deccan Queen and other trains complained that the railway authorities at Mumbai and other stations up to Kalyan could have passed on the information about the derailment which occurred around 4 pm. Once the trains had proceeded after 5 pm from Mumbai, the passengers said they had no alternative but to travel by the train. No eatables were available during the entire travel up to Pune, the passengers charged.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.