A Central Railway committee has been constituted to investigate all aspects of the derailment of the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express, which occurred just outside Pune Junction station on Monday evening, as well as the alleged delay in restoration work.
Probe into Maintenance and Delay
The probe committee will determine if there were any shortcomings in the maintenance of the non-standard diamond crossing in the Pune yard, where a coach of the premier train derailed around 7:20 pm. The rake of the Deccan Queen, which left Pune at 1:15 am on Tuesday, carried the Solapur-bound passengers of the derailed train and reached the destination at 5 am.
Rajeev Shrivastava, the General Manager of Central Railway, visited Pune on Tuesday and held a meeting with senior officials of the Pune division.
Restoration Time Exceeds Estimates
A senior railway official in the Pune rail division stated that the derailed coach of the Vande Bharat Express was put back on track at 12:17 am on Tuesday, almost five hours after the derailment. The investigation committee from Central Railway headquarters in Mumbai will determine the reason behind the delay.
“It is a bit unusual considering that the technical team carrying out the work had initially estimated restoration time at one-and-a-half to two hours. One trolley (four wheels) of the C-15 coach had derailed. Restoration for this kind of derailment typically does not take that long. There could be technical aspects behind the delay, which will be probed,” the official said.
Focus on Diamond Crossing Maintenance
Another senior official with Central Railway said the Pune yard will be checked during the investigation. “The yard has a non-standard diamond crossing. The Vande Bharat coach derailed there. The investigation team will check whether it was being maintained properly or not.”
He added, “The investigation team will find out if the maintenance of the crossing was skipped on the day of the derailment or the previous day. Maintenance of non-standard diamond crossings is critical at all times and must be done regularly. All aspects behind this incident will be thoroughly probed.”
