CHENNAI: Six coaches of a Beach-Chengalpattu EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) local train were left behind at the Urappakkam station on Wednesday as the coupling between the sixth and seventh compartments gave way while the locomotive chugged along.
The incident happened as the 12-car suburban train was leaving the station around 11.30 am. There were about 1,000 passengers in the train and some of them panicked and jumped on the track.
The Southern Railway blamed it on its supplier, faulting the quality of iron in the coupler. The guard in the rear motor coach alerted the motorman, forcing him to stop the train after it moved about 20 metres.
“We initially thought the train had been stopped so more passengers could get in, but got scared on noticing that our coach wasn’t attached. We immediately jumped out,” said R Kumaresan, a native of Perungalathur.
The leading portion of the train was taken to Guduvanchery around 12.27 pm and the second portion was taken off the track around 12.40 pm. Train services in the area were restored after 70 minutes.
KUMARESAN, who boarded the train at Chennai Beach, said he heard the huge noise when the train left the Beach station. “The train was stopped for a few seconds at Beach and proceeded without any further inspection,” he added.
The 12-car rake comprises four units of cars. One unit consists of three coaches including one motor coach and two trailer coach. The EMU local has got power cars in the first, fourth, ninth, and twelfth positions.
The coupling between trailer coach of the second unit and the motor coach of the third unit was found damaged. On information, railway officials rushed to the spot and evacuated the passengers from the train.
On the cause of the coupler failure, an official note from the Southern Railway said that iron material inside the couplers of both coaches has led to the failure. “The matter is being taken up with the material supplier for this lapse,” added the note.
The Beach-Chengalpattu suburban EMU coaches are maintained at Tambaram car shed, while the western and northern suburban coaches are maintained at Avadi car shed. Every EMU train is being inspected by an official in the rank of senior section engineer before put into operation. Nearly six lakh commuters are catered for in the Chengalpattu-Beach section a day.