Passengers of the Kanyakumari-Rameswaram Express (No.2790) had a miraculous escape after its engine derailed near Sattur around 1 a.m. on Monday.
A welding failure on the left rail of the broad gauge track is said to have caused the derailment near a bridge across the Uppodai stream between Sattur and Thulukkapatti stations on the Tirunelveli-Madurai section.
Divisional Railway Manager A.K. Goel said that no passenger was injured as none of the 13 coaches of the superfast train derailed. He commended the engine pilot, who managed to bring the rake, running at a speed of around 100 km per hour, to a gradual halt. “He did not panic and did not apply sudden brakes.”
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Concrete sleepers on a 400-metre stretch were damaged in the impact. The track was cleared for rail movement with speed restriction around 9.45 a.m.
Additional Divisional Railway Manager T. Venkatasubramanian, who rushed to the spot to supervise the track restoration work, arranged for Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses to carry the stranded passengers to Madurai.
The aged and those who had heavy luggage were taken back to Sattur railway station in the same coaches from where they boarded the buses. The passengers were sent to Rameswaram from Madurai by the Madurai-Rameswaram passenger train. Senior Divisional Safety Officer D. Govindasamy and other officials were present.
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K. Maduraiveeran (50), a trolley man, was killed when an autorickshaw in which he was rushing to the accident site was hit by a sports utility vehicle on the Sattur-Virudhunagar highway. Two other railway personnel, N. Ramasubramanian (25) and D. Mariappan (54) have been admitted to hospital in Madurai.
Around 10 express and passenger trains that were regulated at various stations were delayed up to six hours.
Mr. Goel said that the track would be restored to its usual condition in 24 hours. The cause of the accident would be investigated.
Train No. 2789 Rameswaram-Kanyakumari express scheduled to leave Rameswaram at 8.45 p.m. on Monday was cancelled. Train No. 6610 Coimbatore-Nagercoil Express was partially cancelled on Monday between Virudhunagar and Nagercoil. Passengers who travelled by the train were allowed to board train No. 6351 Mumbai-Nagercoil Express and No. 2633 Chennai Egmore-Kanyakumari Express from Virudhunagar.