KOCHI: Passengers of Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur Venad Express (train number 16302) were left panic-stricken when the engine got detached from the coaches as it neared Ernakulam North Railway station on Sunday morning.
However, no major incident was reported and the train left for Shornur after the engine was decoupled within half an hour, railway officials said.
According to the divisional railway manager's office in Thiruvananthapuram, the engine got detached after the coupling came loose. "But the train was running at a low speed since it was approaching the station. Also, the fail-safe mechanism kicked in, bringing the train to a halt," said the DVM's office.
"As of now nothing much is known as to what caused the uncoupling. An internal inquiry will be launched to determine the cause," the DVM's office further added. According to sources, improper coupling of the engine and the coaches or some mechanical fault might be the reason behind the mishap.
"The train arrives from Thiruvananthapuram and reaches Ernakulam Junction first. Here, after a halt of half-an-hour, the engine position is changed and then the train makes the onward journey to Shornur after another brief halt at Ernakulam North," said Mahesh N, a passenger. But, unlike other times, when the train was nearing the North Railway Station, there was a sudden jerk, he added.
"On enquiring, we came to know that the engine had come loose," he said. According to him, the passengers were lucky since the train was running at a very low speed. "Had the train been travelling at its usual speed, this might have turned into a major accident. These are not isolated incidents. Such things have happened in the past too. Some two years back, there was an incident involving Kottayam passenger that leaves Ernakulam Junction after engine change. The engine got detached and it reached Tripunithura before the officials realised that the coaches are left behind in the outer area of Ernakulam Junction," said Thomas Sebastian, another passenger.