A major train accident was averted on Thursday following the timely alert provided by some youngsters who spotted a crack in the railway track that passed through NGGO Colony near Rakkipalayam on the Coimbatore – Mettupalayam section.
According to residents in the area, some youngsters who were passing by the railway track during the early hours of Thursday noticed the crack. They immediately alerted a railway lineman who informed the railway authorities and halted the Coimbatore - Mettupalayam Passenger Train, which usually passed by the location around 8.15 a.m.
Railway maintenance personnel rushed to the spot and carried out emergency repair works.
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The train, which was delayed by nearly an hour, was instructed to travel at a speed of 10 km per hour while crossing the damaged portion of the track.
Sources said that full repair works were completed by around 1 p.m. after which trains were allowed to pass through at the regular speed. The cause of the crack is yet to be ascertained. Further investigations are under way.