CHENNAI: A pair of wheels of a suburban train bound for Tiruvallur derailed in the Basin Bridge-Vyasarpadi section at around 9.40 am on Sunday. No passengers were injured in the incident.
Due to this, thousands of passengers were stranded at stations in the Chennai-Arakkonam section as services were suspended.
The electrical multiple unit (EMU) train from Chennai was running on the slow line and while it was passing a curve, a pair of wheels on the second coach from the rear end derailed. The train was moving at 20 kmph, and there were 300 passengers on board.
On being alerted by the motorman, train services were suspended in both directions in the Chennai-Tiruvallur sections. However, train operations continued as usual in the fast lines (up and down).
The engineering workers rushed to the scene and detached the eighth and ninth coaches. After putting the eighth coach back on track, the coaches were reattached and the train was sent to the shed around 12:20 pm. Services resumed around 12:40 pm.
B Bharathi, a resident of Korattur, said, “There was no service to Chennai from Korattur for nearly two hours. When I inquired with the railway staff, I was told that the signalling system was suspended due to restoration works.”
In the meantime, a few express trains arriving via Katpadi and Arakkonam were held at Tiruvallur for an hour before being rerouted to the fast line. K Baskar of Tiruvallur, said, “Passengers who had booked tickets to board Lalbagh and other express trains at Arakkonam faced difficulties in reaching Arakkonam due to the suspension of local trains. In such situations, the railways should stop express trains at Tiruvallur and other en-route stations.”