Train falls into dry river, none injured

Ambala: A goods train laden with coal derailed and 15 of its bogies fell into the dry bed of river Markanda. There were no casualties. The accident occured when the train was crossing Markanda river bridge. The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.

Ambala (Haryana), April 20: A goods train laden with coal derailed and 15 of its bogies fell into the dry bed of river Markanda near here.

There were no casualties. The derailment has affected the movement of 41 trains in the Ambala division including cancellation and short termination of 11 trains and diversion of 19 others.

Amritsar-Dehradun Express, KatraRishikesh Hemkunt Express, JammuKanpur Express and Delhi-Ambala passenger service are among the 11 trains cancelled.

The incident occurred on the AmbalaSaharanpur rail section near village Tandwal on Thursday afternoon, divisional railway manager, Ambala, Dinesh Kumar said.

The derailment took place when the train was crossing the Markanda river bridge, the official said. According to another railway official, a portion of the rail track and the bridge was damaged. A rescue team of Ambala railway division rushed to the site.

DRM Kumar said after inspecting the site that the bogies were being removed from the tracks so that the traffic on Ambala-Saharanpur route could be restored.

“For the time being, the rail traffic on the up and down routes was closed. The normal traffic could be restored by late evening,” Kumar said. The cause of the accident could not be immediately ascertained. — PTI