Derailment of four wagons of a goods train at Chengalpattu Junction resulted in the delay in arrival and departure of express and passenger trains from Chennai Egmore railway station on Monday. Due to the accident, suburban train services between Chennai Beach and Chengalpattu were operated up to Singaperumalkoil railway station for about 12 hours.
According to official sources, the accident took place at around 2.30 a.m. when four wagons of the goods train, laden with cement bags, which was proceeding from Kallakudi near Tiruchi to Chennai, derailed while it was about to switch over to main-line.
On hearing about the incident, senior railway officials rushed to Chengalpattu and restoration work was undertaken immediately. Long distance trains and morning suburban services from Tirumalpur to Chennai Beach, passing through Chengalpattu Junction, had to be regulated with minimum hours of delay, said a senior official. As a fall-out, suburban services operated between Chennai-Beach and Chengalpattu were terminated at Singaperumalkoil in order to facilitate quick restoration of the track and regulation of long-distance trains through Chengalpattu Junction. Stating that all the derailed wagons were removed from the track in the afternoon, official sources said normal traffic was restored after 5 p.m.
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Commuters, who arrived at Chengalpattu station in the morning, were allowed to travel in long-distance trains proceeding towards Chennai Egmore. At the same time, EMU services between Tambaram and Chennai Beach remained normal. Travelling from Tambaram to Chennai Beach was not that much an ordeal as in other working days since it was a holiday for government offices, some banks and private companies on account of Telugu New Year Day, said S. Anandhan, a commuter from East Tambaram.
(With inputs from K. Manikandan in Chennai)