A DAY after the ‘The Hitavada’ published a news article on the ‘missing rake’ containing 90 containers, the Railways and CONCOR authorities, on Tuesday, scrambled to prove that the train carrying it from Nagpur to JNPT in Mumbai was not ‘missing’. They made attempts to show that the concerned authorities were tracking the rake since February 1, the day when it left Inland Container Depot (ICD) MIHAN. As per the statement released by the Central Railway, the rake reached Shegaon station in Bhusawal Railway Division on February 5. However, the Railway authorities remained tight-lipped over the stoppage of the rake at Shegaon station for over a week (from February 5 to 14).

On the other hand, CONCOR had specifically informed ‘The Hitavada’ on Monday that the rake was not traceable on the Indian Railways’ Freight Operation Information System (FOIS), a system for monitoring live movement of rakes. Besides, highly placed sources also told ‘The Hitavada’ that, the Railways and CONCOR authorities were clueless about the location of the rake for over a week. ‘The Hitavada’ has in its possession enough records to prove it. But for secrecy and security reasons, the newspaper is refraining from publishing it.

Interestingly, the authorities made several changes in their versions on the train’s location. Initially, they said, the train number PJT1040201 carrying the rake was last located at Oombermali Railway Station near Kasara station. But on Tuesday morning, a senior Railway officer, over the telephone, told ‘The Hitavada’ that the train had already reached its location. After a while, the senior officer changed his version saying that the train was in Shegaon station in Bhusawal division. Further, the official statement released by the Railways highlighted that the rake had reached Shegaon station on February 5. The rake had 90 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) filled with export quality rice, paper, plastic goods, chemicals and other items. The material was supposed to reach Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai in four to five days.