Thiruvananthapuram: A mudslip near Parassala railway station in southern Kerala early Thursday derailed the locomotive of the Bilaspur-Tirunelveli Express after the train was halted, disrupting services on the Neyyattinkara-Parassala section. The incident occurred at 2.19 am at kilometre 249, when Train No. 22619 was stopped following the landslide, the Southern Railway said.
"All passengers and railway staff are safe," the railways said in a statement. A relief locomotive was arranged immediately to move the train, while an accident relief train (ART), with personnel and equipment, was rushed to the site to clear the track.
Services on the stretch were hit. 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. Five other trains faced delayed departures: the Kanniyakumari-Mangaluru Central Parasuram Express, the Nagercoil Junction-Punalur Passenger, the Thiruvananthapuram North-Nagercoil Junction Passenger, the Punalur-Kanniyakumari Passenger and the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Tambaram Express. The Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore Express and the Pune-Kanniyakumari Express were also expected to run late, the Southern Railway said.
The derailment came amid heavy rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram district on Wednesday and a yellow alert for October 22 to 25. Services on the section are likely to stay disrupted until restoration work is completed.
According to the Southern Railway, the accident relief train has reached the site with workers and restoration material, and clearing the soil is under way. Three trains were held en route and five faced delayed departures. The railways said services on the route will remain disrupted until the track is restored. In all, more than 10 trains were affected. With the IMD keeping a yellow alert for October 22 to 25, rain is expected to continue.