Watch: Crane removes derailed coaches of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express

KALYAN: Twelve hundred passengers of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express had a miraculous escape after the train's engine and nine coaches derailed near Asangaon, 70km from Mumbai, on Tuesday morning. This was the fourth train derailment in the country in the last 10 days.A railway official said a landslide due to heavy rain in the Kasara Ghats section washed away a portion of the tracks, leading to the derailment, but another official said it was too early to ascertain the exact cause. Whatever the reason, it was motorman Ravindra Singh's presence of mind that averted a tragedy .The incident occurred at 6.36am between Asangaon and Vasind railway stations. An official said Singh hit the brakes upon realising that the track ahead was damaged, and by the time the train had reached the defective spot, its speed had been considerably reduced. At the spot where the Duronto Express derailment occurred, the rail ways had carried out pre-monsoon work and work on a third line, during which a portion of the hill was cut, a source said. A railway official refuted this as a possible cause and termed the accident as having been caused by a natural calamity . “It can be seen that soil erosion up to 50 feet occurred on the hillside.Loose soil and boulders fell on the track, leading to the incident,“ he said.Central Railway spokesperson A K Singh said no passengers were injured, though locals said a few people, including the motorman, did suffer minor injuries.It took over two hours for rescue equipment to reach the spot, by which time locals from Vahevali village--the exact site of the accident--had started helping trapped passengers out. Locals served water, tea and snacks to the passengers.The road nearest to the accident spot was 1km away . But an ailing passenger said he had to tug his luggage for nearly 3km to a spot where buses were waiting.Suburban train services on the Kasara and Kalyan sections had to be closed. Services may resume by Wednesday morning. Several long distance trains were cancelled while some routes were changed.Sunil Udasi, chief spokesperson of Central Railway , said, “I would like to reiterate that the driver did an excellent job of applying emergency brakes. As the train's coaches were constructed with advanced LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) technology , they did not pile up on top of one another.“One of the passengers, Rajendra Santoshwar, said that because it was early morning, most passengers were asleep, only to be woken up by a series of jolts. The effect on him, he said, was to fall down from his upper berth in the A1coach.