Chennai: The Kannur-Yeshwanthapur Express train(Train no. 07390) derailed at Dharmapuri near Salem in Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Friday when boulders fell on it. South western Railway in a statement said that there were no casualties in the incident.
There were 2,350 passengers in the train and five coaches derailed between Thoppur and Sivadi (Ghat section) around 3.50 a.m. on Friday, the statement read.
The train which left Kannur in Kerala at 6.05 p.m. on Thursday was heading towards Yeshwanthapur in Bengaluru when the accident occurred.
The Chief Public Relations officer of SouthWestern Railway Aneesh Hegde said that the sudden falling of boulders led to the derailment of coaches, BI, B2(AC Three-tier), S6, S7, S8, S9, and S1O sleeper coaches.
Hegde said that the unaffected coaches along with passengers continued the journey towards Thoppur and further to Salem. Fifteen buses were arranged for passengers who wanted to travel to Bengaluru.
Senior railway officials with the Accident Relief Train (ART) and medical equipment van reached the spot from Bengaluru and Salem.
The South Western Railway in a statement said that due to the derailment, it has diverted three train services.
Train no. 02677 KSR Bengaluru- Ernakulam Superfast is diverted to run via Baiyappanahali; Bangarapet and Tirupattur Train no. 07236 Nagercoil Jn- KSR Bengaluru Festival Special will run via Salem-Tirupattur-Bengarapet-KSR Bengaluru.
Train no. 07316 Salem- Yeshwantpur Special train, which was scheduled to leave at 5.30 a.m. on Friday, will be regulated at Salem and rescheduled later in the day.
