Eleven coaches of the Bangalore-bound Gandhidham Express derailed between Bhiwandi and Kopar stations in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Officials of the Central Railway said the incident occurred around 12.35 am and two passengers—Prabhaben (38) and Jaikishan Rohida (41)— suffered minor injuries. No casualties have been reported so far, said the officials.

The accident damaged tracks and Over-Head Wire (OHE) measuring 350 metres. “We suspect the fracture of tracks could be the reason for the accident. This could have happened owing to the change in climate,” said Shriniwas Mudgerikar, spokesperson for CR.

Soon after the accident, relief vans from Kurla, Kalyan and Pune carrying doctors rushed to the spot. By 4 am, the CR arranged for an alternative train for the passengers. “They were served breakfast at Kalyan and lunch at Satara,” Mudgerikar said. Villagers in the area also swung into action to help the passengers, said railway officials.

An hour before the accident, a villager near Kopar had sent an SMS to railways informing it about a weird noise coming from the tracks. “We did receive the message. But it had a few suggestions and feedback,” Mudgerikar said. “More importantly, two goods trains had also plied via this route before the Gandhidham Express.”

Since the accident, a team of CR officials has been working to restore the services, said sources and added that normalcy could be restored only by the early hours of Friday. The accident derailed the services on CR for the fifth time in two weeks (see box).

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