Runaway train kills 4 in Chennai

At least four persons were killed and 20 injured after an empty local train collided with a goods train at Vysarpadi, five kilometers from Chennai Central station, early on Wednesday.

At least four persons were killed and 20 injured after an empty local train collided with a goods train at Vysarpadi, five kilometers from Chennai Central station, early on Wednesday.

HT Image

Under the impact, part of the train caught fire and the blaze spread to the railway station. What’s more, some derailed coaches crashed on to the platform at Vysarpadi, Southern Railway sources said, adding that firefighters had to struggle for two hours to bring the situation under control.

The Railway Police suspect sabotage as the empty suburban rake was suddenly pulled out of the terminus by some “unauthorised miscreants”. Sources said the driver of the train was standing on the platform after the train arrived at Chennai at around 4.45 a.m.

At 5 a.m., the driver saw someone suddenly driving out the train without any signal clearance. The driver immediately raised an alarm, but the train quickly accelerated and kept running till it hit the goods train coming from the opposite direction at Vysarpadi station.

Southern Railway acting general manager M.S. Jayanth said four persons were killed but Railway Police sources put it at six, PTI reported. Passenger trains, mostly towards Mumbai, Bangalore and Kerala, were delayed by over three hours as the Southern Railway cancelled and rescheduled several trains.