TIRUCHY: Bird-hit incidents resulting in emergency landing of flights and cancellation are common in the aviation sector. Ever heard of a small bird hitting a train to a standstill? It happened on Friday, when an express train in Tiruchy division was stranded for more than an hour. According to officials, the Coimbatore — Mayiladuthurai Jan Shatabdi Express (Train No 12084) was stopped at Mutharasanallur railway station near Tiruchy after a bird hit the pantograph — the apparatus mounted on the roof that transmits power from the overhead line to the engine — and got entangled there.
Officials in the station conveyed the information to authorities in Tiruchy and the power was cut for some time to ensure safety. A technical team from Tiruchy reached Mutharasanallur and inspected the pantograph and the engine of the train after removing the carcass of the bird.
“The engine didn’t face any issues. Power got disconnected as the bird was entangled in the pantograph. After stopping the power, we removed the carcass and the train left on its onward journey around 12: 19 pm, a delay of about 1 hour 30 minutes,” said sources. The train left Coimbatore at 7:10 am and reached Mutharasanallur at 10:50 am.
Several passengers were curious to know why the train had stopped in a small station for so long. Rumours spread that it was a peacock that stopped the train. Railways dismissed these rumours and confirmed that it was only small bird and it’s a very rare accident.