Konkan railway services resume post landslide

The train services on Konkan Railway route resumed after torrential rains in the region triggered a major landslide in Ratnagiri sector of Maharashtra that threw traffic out of gear for nearly twelve hours, affecting scores of commuters.

The train services remained disrupted throughout the day and the schedule could be normalised only in the evening, twelve hours after the wall collapse was noticed on Tuesday morning, Konkan Railway officials said.

The wall collapse was noticed at around 8.15 am following which the traffic was immediately suspended on the route connecting the coastal region to Mumbai in north and Karwar in south, they said.

Incessant rains have hit the Konkan belt since last three days.

Konkan Railway Corporation Limited's Chief Public Relations Officer Siddheshwar Telugu said that a wall had collapsed around 8.20 am near Pomendi between Ratnagiri and Nivsar railway sections.

Following the incident, some trains on the route were regulated between various stations on Konkan Railway, while some were diverted via Panvel, Pune, Miraj, Londa and vice versa, he said, adding the tracks were cleared at 7 pm as the work was taken up on war footing.

The landslide had left several hundred people, who were returning back to their homes from Mumbai to celebrate ten-day Ganesh festival stranded throughout the day.

KRCL has been running special trains to clear the festive rush from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai to Madgaon (Goa) since August 28.

The corporation has also augmented coaches on its existing trains for the purpose.