Major train accident averted on Mumbai-Pune route, thanks to CCTV cameras

A landslide which caused the boulder to fall on the track around 8:15 pm, held up the Mumbai-Kolhapur Sahyadri Express for nearly two hours. (Source: YouTube)

A major train accident was averted on the Mumbai-Pune railway route near Lonavala as CCTV cameras installed in the hilly section for monitoring during monsoon came in handy on Thursday night. The incoming train was stopped well in time before it could hit a fallen boulder as alert officials conveyed the information swiftly.

A landslide, which caused the boulder to fall on the track around 8:15 pm, held up the Mumbai-Kolhapur Sahyadri Express for nearly two hours. “The monitoring staff not only alerted higher authorities but also ensured that power supply to the overhead equipment was switched off and oncoming trains were stopped well in time,” Sunil Udasi, Chief Spokesperson, Central Railway was quoted as saying to PTI.

Subsequently, the train was reversed to Thakurwadi station and then it resumed its journey towards Kolhapur at around 10:30 pm, he said, adding that traffic on the route was restored in the “shortest possible time”.

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“Passengers were provided water at Thakurwadi and snacks when the train reached Lonavala around 11 pm,” Udasi said.

Stating that the boulder was 2.3 meters long, 1.6 meters high and 2.2 meter wide, he informed that it was big enough to cause serious damage had it hit the train.

(With PTI inputs)