Three coaches of the Dadar-Puducherry Express (Train no 11005) derailed near Matunga station in Mumbai on Friday night, April 15, after the engine of the CSMT-Gadag Express hit it from the rear side, a Central Railway official told PTI. As of Friday night, there were no reports of anyone getting injured in the incident which took place around 9.45 pm.
“The Dadar-Puducherry Chalukya Express was entering on a down fast line from platform 7 of the Dadar Terminus, when the CSMT-Gadag Express, which departed around 9.30 pm, hit it from the rear side on a crossing,” the official said.
A video of the incident which went viral on social media showed that the coaches of the two express trains brushed against each other before the derailment. Some passengers can also be heard alerting each other while this happens.
Three coaches of 11005 #PuducherryExpress derail at #Matunga station.
— Siddhant Anand (@JournoSiddhant) April 15, 2022
Time Around 9:45 PM pic.twitter.com/ldSw3Dm1OL
Shivaji Sutar, chief spokesperson of Central Railway, said that relief trains had been sent to the site. The traffic on the Up and Down slow line, which was suspended for some time for safety reasons, had been restored, he added.
Quaiser Khalid, commissioner, Government Railway Police, said in a tweet that there was a "minor collision" between the two down trains and the Puducherry Express was being evacuated. This was the second derailment on the Central Railway section this month. Earlier, the Lokmanya Tilak-Jaynagar Express (Pawan Express) had derailed near Nashik in Maharashtra on April 3, 2022.
Several trains were cancelled or rescheduled after the accident on Friday evening. The list can be found below.
Trains Update
— DRM Mumbai CR (@drmmumbaicr) April 16, 2022
Trains cancelled/short terminated/short originated/rescheduled pic.twitter.com/p8YfDzW06s
The incident took place a day before the 169th anniversary of the railway in India. The first passenger train in India (and Asia) ran between Mumbai and Thane on April 16, 1853. The Indian Railway, thus enters into its 170th year of service from Saturday.