The engine and the next two coaches of the 17-coach Bangalore-Arakkonam Passenger which left Bangalore on Tuesday morning got delinked from the remaining coaches of the train causing a flutter among the passengers between Valathur and Melalathur stations near Gudiyatham in the evening. All the passengers were safe.
The engine driver who did not notice the accident piloted the engine for a short distance before he realised that 15 coaches of the train had got delinked and were stranded way behind, and stopped the engine.
Another engine which was brought from a nearby station pushed the stranded coaches to the Gudiyatham station where efforts were on to link them to another engine for onward journey of the train.
According to a railway official, the accident occurred because the coupling of the second coach behind the engine got cut.
The engine of a goods train from Valathur was delinked and used to push the delinked coaches of the Bangalore-Arakkonam Passenger in the reverse direction towards Gudiyatham. The work of linking the delinked coaches to a new engine was hampered by the need to allow the Chennai-bound express and superfast trains to pass.
