Tamil Nadu train accident: Southern Railway to restore Kavaraipettai rail lines by October 13

The restoration work is being carried out with maximum urgency and precision to ensure the safety of tracks, signals, and other operational aspects, officials said 

The Southern Railway is carrying out extensive rescue and relief operations in coordination with multiple agencies following the accident involving the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express and a goods train at Kavaraipettai near Chennai on Friday (October 11, 2024). 

The restoration work is being carried out with maximum urgency and precision to ensure the safety of tracks, signals, and other operational aspects, officials said.

The Southern Railway is working in close collaboration with all the relevant authorities and agencies to handle the situation with the utmost care, a press release said. Key agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Department, State Police, Railway Police Force, and Government Railway Police personnel, have been mobilised for the rescue operations, actively working at the site to handle the situation.

More than 500 personnel are on the ground, contributing to the rescue efforts. As part of the operation, the Southern Railway has deployed five heavy earthmovers, 140-tonne cranes from Tondiarpet, heavy duty re-railing equipment for re-railing the derailed coach, accident relief train from Tondiarpet Marshalling Yard, a self-propelled accident relief train (SPART) equipped with emergency equipment, medical facilities, communication systems, and skilled personnel for fast-tracking rescue and relief operations.

The derailed coaches that could be re-railed were done so, while the other coaches that could not be re-railed were removed from the mainline track in order to restore it. Lighting arrangements and videography are being coordinated by the Southern Railway’s Mechanical and Electrical Departments to ensure continuous the monitoring of operations. The relief efforts are being conducted under the close supervision of the General Manager to ensure timely completion, the press release said. 

Of the four lines at Kavaraipettai, the UP line and UP loop line are expected to be restored by Saturday (October 12, 2024) night. The other two lines are expected to be restored by early Sunday (October 13, 2024) morning, the release further said.

Earlier, A.M. Chowdhary, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Bengaluru, conducted a statutory inspection at the Kavaraipettai rail accident site, assisted by the senior officials of the Southern Railway.

Among the injured, three grievously injured passengers have been admitted to Stanley Medical College Hospital, and four passengers with minor injuries, treated at Government Hospital, Ponneri, were given ex gratia payment as per norms.

All the other passengers have been rescued, either moved to Chennai Central to board a special train to Darbhanga or moved to hospitals as needed. The special train from Dr. MGR Chennai Central left for Darbanga on Saturday with over 1,800 passengers onboard.

Published - October 12, 2024 03:25 pm IST