Thiruvananthapuram: A landslide near Parassala railway station in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram district derailed the locomotive of the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express (Train No. 22619) early on Thursday, October 22, disrupting train services on the Neyyattinkara-Parassala section, Southern Railway said.
Source: The Times of Bengal (reporting Southern Railway)
The incident took place at around 2:19 am, when the train, travelling from Bilaspur to Tirunelveli, was stopped near Parassala after a landslide was reported in the area; the locomotive was later found to have derailed. Malayalam news channel Media One reported that soil collapsed onto the track and that the train's slow speed averted a bigger accident.
Train No. 22619 (Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express); locomotive derailed near Parassala at about 2:19 am on Thursday; all passengers and staff safe, no injuries reported; six trains cancelled for the day and the express short-terminated at Neyyattinkara with buses arranged for onward travel.
Southern Railway confirmed that all passengers and railway staff were safe and that no injuries were reported. Railway officials arranged another locomotive to move the affected train, and an Accident Relief Train with staff and equipment was sent to the spot to begin restoration work and clear the affected section.
In its service changes for the day, Indian Railways said six passenger trains were fully cancelled, including services between Thiruvananthapuram North and Nagercoil Junction and between Nagercoil Junction and Kollam Junction. The Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express was short-terminated at Neyyattinkara, with bus arrangements made for passengers' onward travel, while the Kanniyakumari-Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express was rescheduled to depart three hours and fifteen minutes late. Helpline numbers were issued for passenger updates.
Several other trains were held or delayed by the disruption: the Tambaram-Thiruvananthapuram Central Special was held at Eraniel, the Madurai-Punalur Express at North Panakudi and the Tambaram-Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express at Nanguneri, while departures including the Nagercoil Junction-Punalur Passenger, the Thiruvananthapuram North-Nagercoil Junction Passenger, the Punalur-Kanniyakumari Passenger and the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Tambaram Express were delayed. The Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore Express and the Pune-Kanniyakumari Express were also expected to run late, according to Southern Railway.
The landslide occurred amid heavy rainfall in parts of Kerala. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram district on Wednesday, October 21, warning of very heavy rain at isolated places, and a yellow alert for several districts between October 22 and October 25. Passengers have been advised to check the latest train updates with Southern Railway before starting their journey. (Sources: Southern Railway via The Times of Bengal; Indian Railways service-change announcement; Mathrubhumi; Media One.)