18K metric tonnes of excess rail cleared since March 2016

Following the incidents of sabotage on railway tracks, both Central and Western Railways have removed more than 18,000 metric tonnes of excess rail pieces in the past one year.

The Central Railways (CR) has removed 9,000 metric tonnes of rail pieces in Mumbai, of which 7,000 metric tonnes have been scrapped, while the remaining have been sent to workshops for maintenance work.

The Western Railways (WR) scrapped 5,400 metric tonnes in the past four months, and about 11,300 in entire financial year.

“Since January, 5,400 metric tonnes of excess rail pieces have been removed. Around 600 metric tonnes of rail pieces are remaining, which will be scrapped soon,”said Ravindra Bhakar, chief public relation officer (CPRO), WR.

“We are keeping only the minimum number of rail pieces near the tracks, which are necessary for maintenance,” he added.

Confirming the removal of rail pieces from the CR tracks, divisional railway manager Ravindra Goyal said, “We are removing the excess rail pieces adjoining the tracks on a priority basis, so that they are not misused.”

Since January, three attempts of sabotage have occurred on railway tracks near Mumbai.

In the first incident, a 7-meter-long rail track piece, weighing around 400kg was found diagonally placed on the tracks near Diva station.

The alert driver of the Madgaon-dadar Janshatabdi Express averted a mishap by applying the emergency brakes in the nick of time.

In another incident in February, a large rail rod was found placed on the railway tracks between Kalamboli and Taloja stations in Navi Mumbai.

In yet another incident in February, a six-foot-long discarded overhead equipment was found lying on the rail tracks between Jasai and Dapoli stations near Uran.

In the wake of these incidents, the railways has instructed its crew to remain vigilant and report anomalies on a priority basis.