Pune: Solapur-bound passengers of the derailed Vande Bharat Express spent anxious hours on a platform at Pune Junction late into Monday night, as railway authorities decided to send them to their destination using the rake of the delayed Deccan Queen.
Railway Officials Announce Arrangement
Hemant Kumar Behera, the divisional commercial manager and public relations officer of Pune railway division, stated, 'Passengers waiting to go to Solapur will be sent in Deccan Queen's rake. It will take some time before the train arrives because track restoration work is underway following the derailment of Vande Bharat Express.'
The scheduled arrival time of Deccan Queen in Pune is 8:25 pm. However, as of press time, the train had not yet reached the city.
Passengers Walk to Platform After Derailment
Almost one-and-a-half hours after a part of the C-15 coach of the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express (22225) derailed about 600 meters away from the platform, passengers made their way on foot to platform number two (shared with platform three) of Pune station. Some passengers sat on the platform, while others rested on the staircase of a foot overbridge. They were served food there.
Passenger Accounts
Mumbai's Jamil Sayyed, who was traveling in the C-6 coach of the train, said, 'My daughter and I were going to Solapur. We kept sitting in the train until around 8:50 pm. Railway officials then announced that Pune-bound passengers should disembark and those traveling to Solapur should remain seated.'
'After some time, the officials said this train wouldn't go and passengers going to Solapur should also disembark. It took us around half an hour to reach the platform. We have been told that a train will come in sometime for us,' Sayyad told TOI.
