Chennai, Oct 12: The Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Superfast Express faced a fierce accident in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district on Friday evening, leading to a fire in two passenger coaches and derailment of as many as six coaches.
Many people were onboard, were injured in the collision. However, all passengers, the guard and driver of the train had luckily close shaves, railway sources said.
As per the ground-level report, the incident occurred when the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Superfast Express train collided with a stationary goods train at Kavarapettai in Chennai Railway Division.
However, the technical and safety officials of the Indian Rail have found the root- reason behind the collision and train fire.
Before the arrival of the Bagmati Express at the station, the signals for the express train were green, and the train passed the Ponneri station at 8.27 pm, with no immediate issues reported. However, as the train approached Kavarapettai station, near Chennai, the crew felt an intense jerk, prompting the train to veer onto the loop line and collide with the stationary rake, which was parked next to the TE (terminal equipment).
"By that time the train was running at a speed of 109 km/h when its crew suddenly felt severe jerks for minutes.Meanwhile, the passenger train entered a loop line and collided with a stationary goods train, halted on the same track, sources said.
Meanwhile, firefighting units, ambulance and rescue teams have been dispatched to the site, and railway officials are working to restore both the up and down lines affected by the derailment.
Railway Safety Teams from the MAS Division, including Sr. DEE (Deputy Electrical Engineer) and other officials have reached the site to conduct further inspections to study the technical glitches that led to the unavoidable accident.
