After one of the seven coaches damaged in the 7/11 train blasts got back on track on July 11, a second coach has been repaired and is waiting for its turn to hit the tracks.

Last time, workers at the Western Railway’s Mahalaxmi workshop had expressed their apprehensions about whether these severely damaged coaches will be able to sustain the commuter pressure during peak hours. However, all workers are complaining about now is the perennial problem of flooding that the workshop faces every year.

“The repair work has to go on continuously, and heavy rain affects this work. We are working in one-and-a-half-feet deep water. The three other coaches being repaired are also submerged in water,” said a technician at the Mahalaxmi workshop on condition of anonymity.

Chief Works Manager V K Agarwal agreed that flooding is an annual phenomenon, but added that “this is natural during monsoons. We are making some arrangements this year to tackle the problem of flooding from next year.”

When queried about the ongoing repair of 7/11 coaches, Agarwal said, “Repair work is going on at full speed. Another coach is ready and it will be back on tracks in a week.” Repair work was undertaken for four of the five coaches, which were manufactured by Jessop company of Kolkata.