Sena line train derails in Derunde, Sofala

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Sena line train derails in Derunde, Sofala

1:12 CAT | 29 Jan 2018

File photo / For illustration purposes only

A train carrying thousands of passengers on the Marromeu-Beira route came off the rails at dawn yesterday at Derunde station in Sofala’s Muanza district on the Sena Line, causing some damage to the locomotive.

The Executive Director of Mozambique Railways central region (CFM-C), Augusto Abudo, confirmed the incident to Notícias, adding that the derailment delayed the completion of the journey for about five hours.

According to Abudo, the probable cause of the derailment was human error, because the lock on the points used to change track was forced. There were no injuries.

To deal with the situation, CFM sent another Beira train to the site to pull the passengers carriages, which were supposed to arrive at their destination between 4.00 and 4.30 a.m., but only got there after 10:00 am this Sunday.

This is the first incident involving passengers this year on the Sena Line connecting the port city of Beira to the border town of Moatize, a total distance of 575 km, including the Nhamitanga-Marromeu section.

Last year there was a similar case involving a freight train.

The passenger train, consisting of 16 fully illuminated 3rd, 2nd and 1st class carriages, circulates twice a week on the Beira-Moatize and Beira-Marromeu routes. The train has been popular with passengers due to its relative comfort and low ticket prices, particularly as the degradation of dirt roads in area makes road travel problematic.

Source: Notícias