Railway Minister orders probe into earth-mover hitting train

Minister for Railways, Suresh Prabhu has ordered for an inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety into a private earth mover hitting Karmali–Dadar Janshatabi Express between Sindhudurg and Kankavali stations on Konkan Railway section at 4.25 p.m. on Sunday.

In all, 16 passengers had been injured in the incident, according to a Konkan Railway release.

The Minister has ordered that a strict action should be taken against the “defaulter”, the release said.

It said, “A JCB of a private stone quarry fell down from Kaswan-3 cutting at Km 320/0 between Sindhudurg and Kankavali stations which infringed the railway track and hit one AC Chair Car coach and 2 Non-AC Chair Car Coaches of train no 12052 Karmali–Dadar Janshatabdi Express at 4.25 p.m…” Among the injured, three passengers suffered serious injuries while 13 suffered minor injuries.

“However none of the injuries are fatal. The injured passengers were immediately shifted by Konkan Railway to Government Hospital at Kankavali. Konkan Railway officials rushed to the site and brought about an early clearance of the railway track,” the release said.

Ex-gratia payment has been arranged by KRCL (Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.) to the injured passengers.

The railway track has not been affected due to the accident and train services have resumed.

KRCL has filed a case against the stone quarry owner, the release said.