Shimla-bound train derails near Barog, none injured
Showers triggered a landslide in the area and stones slid onto the track, leading to the derailment
SHIMLA/DHARAMSHALA: A rail car derailed on the world heritage Kalka-shimla narrow gauge line amid heavy rain on Thursday morning, halting rail traffic to the Himachal Pradesh state capital. A train with nine passengers on board was stranded at Dharampur station.
Railway officials said that the rail car had left from Kalka to Shimla at 5am. “It left Kumarhatti for Barog at 6.55am but ran off track near Barog at 7.45am due to heavy rain and landslide in the area as some stones had slid down onto the track,” said Amar Singh Thakur, chief commercial inspector of the Kalka-shimla track.
The coach was moving at a slow speed that helped avert a major accident. All passengers are safe, he said.
Thakur said the train driver informed Kumarhatti and Barog railway station officials about the incident.
The authorities made arrangements to send the passengers
to Shimla by road.
Pangi cut off after snowfall
The remote Pangi valley was cut off from district headquarters Chamba on Thursday after a spell of snowfall on the 14,482ft high Sach Pass in the Pir Panjal mountain range of Himalayas.
The 170km Chamba-killar road is the shortest route linking Pangi with Chamba. The alternative routes via Kishtwar of Jammu and Kashmir and Udaipur in Lahaul-spiti are more than 500km long.
Currently, apple harvest season is about to start in Pangi valley. More snowfall and rains can affect the transportation of the crops to markets.
Meanwhile, traffic was also disrupted on Manali-leh highway after fresh snowfall on Baralacha La pass.
The highway is also blocked due to landslide at Nehru Kund ahead of Manali town.
Man hurt as shooting stones hit car
One person was injured after shooting stones hit a car at Shoghi on Kalka-shimla highway. The injured was rushed to IGMC in Shimla. The vehicle was badly damaged in the incident.
The Powari to Kaza highway was blocked due to shooting stones.