Seven injured in Chennai train collision; special train for stranded travellers departs
CHENNAI: Seven passengers were injured in a train accident involving the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express and a freight train near Kavaraipettai, close to Chennai, on Friday, according to Southern Railway.
Officials said that all passengers trapped in the 13 derailed coaches of the Bagmati Express were safely rescued.
Among the injured, three passengers with serious injuries were taken to Stanley Medical College Hospital, while four with minor injuries were treated at the Government Hospital in Ponneri. All seven received ex-gratia payments, according to an official statement from the railways.
Stranded passengers from the Bagmati Express were transported by buses to Ponneri and then to Chennai Central by two special suburban trains early in the morning.
Upon arrival at Chennai Central, railway doctors conducted medical check-ups, and passengers were provided with food and water before being boarded onto a special train bound for Darbhanga, via Arakkonam, Renigunta, and Gudur.
This train departed Chennai Central at 4:45 am, the statement added.
Southern Railway also reported that track restoration work at the accident site was progressing rapidly. In the meantime, all trains scheduled to run via Gudur-Chennai were diverted through Renigunta, Arakkonam, and either Perambur or Chengalpattu.
Additionally, intercity express and MEMU trains on the Chennai-Tirupati, Arakkonam-Puducherry, and Chennai-Puducherry routes were cancelled.
The Bagmati Express, bound for Darbhanga, left Perambur at 7:50 pm on Friday and reached Kavaraipettai near Gummidipundi around 8:30 pm. The train was given a green signal to proceed on the main line towards Gudur but instead entered the loop line at Kavaraipettai station, where the freight train was parked, according to railway staff.
The train, initially running at 109 km/h, reduced its speed to 75 km/h before entering the loop line with a loud noise and colliding with the rear coaches of the freight train near the guard's coach.
The impact caused the derailment of 13 coaches, while one coach - a power car cum parcel van - caught fire. The railways ordered a high level inquiry into the accident.