Passengers of Hazrath Nizamuddin – Yeshwantapur Sampark Kranti Express faced anxious moments when coaches of the train detached between Yakutpura and Uppuguda railway stations in Hyderabad on Monday morning. No casualties were reported in the incident.
The train left Kacheguda railway station at around 8:20 a.m. and travelled a few kilometres when the coupling that joins the S7 and S8 bogies snapped. The engine along with five coaches travelled a few metres before the driver stopped the train.
MMTS services were suspended for about an hour on the Secunderabad – Falaknuma line. Hundreds of commuters were left stranded at the railway stations till the restoration of train services.
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Meanwhile, the South Central Railway clarified that thanks to an alert driver and initiative of the staff who rushed to the spot near Uppuguda station between Kacheguda and Falaknama, the incident involving two coaches cutting free due to a mechanical defect was contained without further damage. When contacted, a senior Railway officer said the Sampark Kranthi Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin left three-and-a-half hours behind schedule, en route to Yeshwantpur.
Explaining the sequence of events, he said that when the locomotive and seven coaches cut loose due to the coupling that developed a defect, leaving the rest of the coaches behind, the driver applied brakes. Soon, maintenance staff from Kacheguda reached the spot and sending the locomotive and seven bogies onwards to Falaknama, brought the rest of the coaches back to Kacheguda by attaching another engine.
Because there were relatively less number of passengers in the 8th coach in which the coupling developed a snag, they were adjusted in other coaches and the rake was sent on to Falaknuma. Mechanical staff started doing metal strain and other mandatory tests to find out how and why the defect had occurred, the officer said.