Another close shave for freight train in Navi Mumbai

A day after a five-foot piece of rail was found placed diagonally over the track near Kalamboli station on the Diva-Panvel stretch on Tuesday, another disaster was averted on Wednesday morning after the driver of a freight train applied the brakes after spotting an eight-foot-long iron pole placed diagonally over the track on the Panvel-Uran route, near Dapoli village.

Panvel city police has registered a case against an unidentified person and an investigation is underway. "The loco pilot pulled the emergency brake and alerted the railway control room," said an officer of Panvel police station.

According to a railway official, the iron pole was removed from the track and the goods train was allowed to move towards Uran. "The route is used by goods trains to transport containers that are shipped to various countries through JNPT," said the official.

Prakash Nilewad, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Zone II of Navi Mumbai police said, "This is the second incident within two days. This time again, the loco pilot of a train noticed an obstruction on the track and stopped the train. We have started an investigation."

This is the second incident that could have been an act of sabotage, after Tuesday's incident.

The police and other agencies are probing both incidents from different angles.

"Miscreants could be behind both incidents. Both cases should be investigated separately as they may not be linked," said a senior officer from zone II.