E-Paper
Days after train derails, services resume in Tamil Nadu
AM Chowdhary, commissioner of railway safety of the Southern Circle, Bengaluru, will conduct the statutory inquiry on October 16 and 17 in Chennai regarding the accident
Train services resumed at the Ponneri-Kavarappettai railway stations on Sunday days after 13 coaches of the Mysuru-Darbhanga Express derailed after it collided with the rear end of a goods train stabled there, officials familiar with the matter said.
Despite receiving a green signal to pass through the main line the passenger train had entered the loop line on Friday. Though no casualties were reported, 19 people were injured in the accident which was 43 km away from Chennai.
AM Chowdhary, commissioner of railway safety of the Southern Circle, Bengaluru, will conduct the statutory inquiry on October 16 and 17 in Chennai regarding the accident, said M Senthamil Selvan, chief public relations officer from the southern railways. “Any member of the public with information regarding the accident or related matters may be invited to provide evidence to the commissioner,” Selvan said.
Officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited the site on Saturday and are probing a sabotage angle in train No. 12578 of the Mysuru-Darbhanga Express. “They will look into whether there was any tampering with the outdoor signalling gears and connecting rods,” said an official in the know of the matter.
Updating on the restoration work, the southern railways said that signalling reconnection works was completed at 8.30 am on Sunday. “...Shalimar Coromandel Express passed the Kavaraipettai accident spot at 09.08 hrs today,” the railways said in a statement. “Hence Main line Train Traffic stands restored in the section in record time after the accident. Work is still going on in the Suburban lines.”
Around 8.30pm on October 11, the train carrying about 1,600 passengers passed Ponneri station and was given a green signal to run through at the next station in Kavaraipettai through the mainline. But while entering the Kavaraipettai station, the train crew experienced a heavy jerk, the southern railways had said earlier. And instead of going into the main line as per the signal given the train which was at a speed of 75 kmph entered into a loop line and from behind it hit an empty goods train which was stationed on the loop line. One parcel van caught went up in flames while 13 coaches derailed and were mangled across the site. A special train took the passengers to Chennai’s central railway station from where they departed to their destination and those injured were taken to government hospitals. At least 40 trains were diverted and rescheduled due to the accident.
