KOCHI: The engine and the coach of a passenger train derailed at Ernakulam South railway station during shunting on Thursday morning. However, no casualties were reported. The incident occurred during shunting process where the staff was attaching the loco to the seating-cum-luggage rake (SLR) around 7.30 am. The Railways has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Soon after the incident, the Railway officials and the police rushed to the spot and using a spare locomotive shunted the rest of the coaches of the Ernakulam–Nilambur Express delaying the train by one and a half hour. According to a staffer, no other train services were delayed or affected due to the incident.
A senior official calls it a lapse in shunting procedure that resulted in the derailing of the locomotive and has ordered an inquiry.
“As a precaution for safe shunting, a clear signal must be conveyed to the driver not to move until they are given instructions. It was suspected that the loco was moved before giving the signal causing it to derail,” said an official on condition of anonymity. “The actual cause of the incident could be known only after an inquiry is over. The statement of the staff present during the procedure is being taken and only then appropriate action could follow”, said the officer.
The services at Ernakulam South railway station have been facing inconveniences owing to similar incidents this month. Last Saturday, a railway accident was averted as routine checks detected a crack on the underframe axil of the New Delhi–Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Express. When asked about the repeated disruptions caused to the schedule, an official said “minor faults can go unnoticed by officials at other stations and would be spotted through routine checks at Ernakulam south station. We cannot let it go unattended and thereby cannot help the disruption in services.”