Metro train goes off track,probe on

The train was the first of the day on the Yamuna Bank to Dwarka Sector 9 route (Line 3),officials said. 

The mishap has been attributed to a problem in the tracks. “Two wheels of the leading bogey of the second coach jumped tracks at 6.02 am when the train neared the 1 km-long Yamuna Bridge,just seconds after it began its journey from the Yamuna Bank station towards Dwarka Sector-9,” Anuj Dayal,DMRC spokesperson,said. “Prima facie the derailment seems to have occurred due to problems related to the railway track. The train was put back on the tracks within four hours of the accident and the entire track on the 2.1-km long route was checked before services resumed between the stations at 2.50 pm.”

Officials of the DMRC swung into action soon after the incident and ferried all passengers on board to the Indraprastha Metro station by road. The DMRC also ran shuttle services between the Yamuna Bank and Indraprastha stations to help the commuters.

A 12-member rescue team arrived from the Shastri Park Depot to put the derailed train back on track. “The rescue team arrived along with a Rail Rerailment Vehicle at the Yamuna Bank station at 8.28 am and completed the entire exercise by 10.06 am. The whole process was completed in less than two hours,” Dayal said.

The train was sent to the Yamuna Bank Depot for further checks and the affected track was checked by a team of experts. Three rounds of train trials were conducted before operations were resumed in the afternoon.

The DMRC also constituted a high-level committee comprising four officers of the rank of general manager for inquiry into the incident. The probe panel consists of general managers — Maintenance,Rolling Stock and Signalling,Telecom and Operations.

The Delhi Metro has faced several problems on this particular line in the recent past,which incidentally has the highest traffic load.

Signalling problems were reported earlier,as a result of which trains were delayed over the last few days. Exactly a month ago,a Metro train with 34 passengers on board derailed at the Dwarka station.