KOCHI: Trains to and from Thiruvananthapuram were delayed by two hours on Sunday after a tree fell on the tracks at Pachalam near the Edappally railway station. The authorities had to cut off power to the overhead lines to facilitate the removal of the huge tree that fell on the track around 9.30 am, a railway official said. “After the high-tension power lines were switched off, several trains from and towards Thiruvananthapuram were delayed by around an hour,” the official said.
The tree was located on private property and the landowner had been served with a notice to remove it, but nothing was done, he said.“The tree was leaning precariously towards the tracks and the power lines,” the official pointed out.
The passengers on board the Venad Express found themselves in an area which was close to the Ernakulam town station but not close enough to disembark. “The incident happened as the Venad Express was entering the Ernakulam Town railway station. Only the engine and a few coaches had entered the station. This forced the passengers who wanted to deboard at Ernakulam Town to walk the entire length of the train to reach the platform,” said Madhavan Nair, a passenger. Many passengers pointed out the lack of an in-house announcement system that would otherwise have notified them of the reasons for the delay in entering the platform.