It was a close call for the passengers of two long-distance trains which collided with each other between Dadar and Matunga stations on the Central Railway. On Friday evening at around 9.45 pm, 11139 Gadag Express and 11005 Dadar-Puducherry Express dashed while they were running parallel, soon after leaving Dadar railway station.
According to Shivaji Sutar, Chief PRO of Central Railway, three rear coaches of the 11005 Dadar to Puducherry train derailed near Matunga railway station; there was no injury reported. 11139 Mumbai CSMT-Gadag Express left Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) at 9.20 pm and reached Dadar at 9.30 pm.
Sources said that after its designated 3 minutes halt, the train left platform 5 of Dadar station at 9.33 pm and slowly proceeded towards Matunga. At the same time, 11005 Dadar-Puducherry was scheduled to depart Dadar at 9.30 pm. Somehow the locomotive of Puducherry Express dashed the coaches of Gadag Express while both were running parallel.
There is said to be a crossover and point there – this is the stretch where trains can switch rail lines – where the collision took place. “We will have to enquire about the actual reason behind the collision. Our priority is to restore the derailed coaches,” said a senior CR official.
The railwaymen claim that prima facie it seems that the three rear coaches derailed while passing through the crossover, and later the locomotive of Gadag Express dashed; however all this can be ascertained only after investigation. After the collision, the passengers said that the lights inside the coaches went off as the coaches shook and it felt like there was a short circuit as overhead equipment (OHE) cables supplying 25000-volt power, also got detached.
