PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, July 4: Train services remained affected for the second consecutive day on Monday between the Howrah and Tatanagar section of South Eastern Railway due to the derailment of a parcel train at Sankrail last evening.
The Howrah-bound Steel Superfast Express left Tatanagar railway station over four hours behind schedule.
The scheduled departure time of Steel Express from Tatanagar railway station is 6:10 a.m. whereas the train started its journey at 10.45 am.
Last night too, the Tatanagar-bound Steel Express was inordinately delayed due to the derailment. The train reached Tatanagar railway station at 1.20 am against its scheduled arrival time of 9.40 am, resulting in much inconvenience for passengers.
The Howrah- Mumbai Geetanjali Express which travels via Tatanagar was also delayed by over three hours.
Officials of South Eastern Railway said the Howrah- Titlagarh Ispat Superfast Express today left Howrah at 9.45 am instead of 6.10 am.
The train was supposed to come to Tatanagar at 9.40 am whereas today it reached here at around 2.30 pm, a delay of around five hours. The passengers had to face the brunt due to the delayed running of trains.
According to railway officials, the freight train from Azara in Assam to Vasco-Da-Gama derailed at Sankrail in the Kharagpur railway section of South Eastern Railway around 5 pm on Sunday.
As a result, three lines – up, down and middle – had to be closed. Local trains and express trains stopped at various stations. Many trains were also cancelled.
Railways have constituted a committee to investigate the cause of the accident.