A major rail accident was narrowly avoided on Sunday morning near Mahidpur Road Station on the busy Kota-Nagda railway section. An 11,000-volt overhead electric (OHE) wire snapped and fell directly onto the Ratlam-Kota MEMO passenger train as it was pulling into the platform. The incident caused damage to the insulator of the train’s driving motor coach, forcing an immediate halt to the service.
- Incident Location: Mahidpur Road Station, Kota-Nagda section.
- Key Impact: Delhi-Mumbai down line rail traffic disrupted for 2.5 hours.
- Passenger Safety: No injuries reported among passengers.
- Recovery: Train resumed journey at 11:00 AM; power fully restored by 12:30 PM.
Swift Response and Restoration
Following the incident, railway authorities acted quickly to ensure passenger safety by immediately shutting down the electricity supply to the overhead lines. This precautionary measure effectively prevented any further electrical hazards. The disruption significantly impacted rail traffic on the critical Delhi-Mumbai down line, leading to delays for several other services passing through the section.
A technical team was promptly dispatched to the site to assess the damage. After conducting emergency repairs, the team successfully activated an alternative driving motor coach, which allowed the stranded MEMO train to resume its journey at 11:00 AM. Full power restoration to the overhead equipment was achieved by 12:30 PM once the necessary maintenance work was completed.
Safety Investigation Underway
Indian Railways has confirmed that no passengers were injured during the event. To prevent such incidents in the future, the railway administration has officially ordered a high-level investigation to determine the root cause of the wire snapping. The report will examine whether the failure was due to equipment wear and tear or other external factors. Regular safety audits remain a top priority for the zone to ensure the continued reliability of the overhead electric infrastructure across the network.