Train accident inquiry to begin tomorrow

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 23. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Mr. P.K. Sen, will conduct the inquiry into the cause of Friday's train accident, on June 25 and June 26 at Kozhikode.

According to an official press release, 58 passengers died, 46 identified and 383 injured in one of the worst accidents in the history of Southern Railway when four bogies of the Mangalore- Chennai Mail plunged into the river at Kadalundi, near Kozhikode, on Friday evening. Most of the deceased, who belonged to Kozhikode and surrounding towns, were regular commuters. All the deceased have been identified and their relatives informed. The bodies are being handed over to their relatives after post- mortem.

The puzzling question before railway officials here is whether the mishap was due to the collapse of the age-old bridge. Though restoration work was on in full swing, the Mangalore- Kozhikode section was cut off from the rail network. It would take at least two to three days to restore normal traffic as a portion of the bridge had collapsed and a temporary bridge had to be constructed, according to Southern Railway sources.

Passengers here complained that though the Mangalore Mail was one of the oldest trains in the zone, it continued to be the ``most neglected train.'' Despite its good patronage, the train used to have only poorly maintained dingy coaches. While major trains in the zone have been converted into air brake coaches, the Mangalore Mail has only vacuum brake coaches.

Train services to and from Mangalore remained affected with the Southern Railway cancelling a few trains and rescheduling some others in the section.

The trains cancelled are: The Cannanore-Alleppey Express in both directions; all passenger trains running on the Shoranur- Kozhikode section.

Trains partially cancelled: The Thiruvananthapuram- Mangalore Parasuram Expresses and the Malabar Expresses between Trichur and Mangalore; the Chennai Central-Mangalore Express and the Mangalore Mail between Shoranur and Mangalore; the Tiruchirapalli-Mangalore Expresses between Palghat and Kozhikode; the Thiruvananthapuram-Cannanore Expresses between Trichur and Cannanore; and the Coimbatore-Mangalore Passengers between Shoranur and Kozhikode.

Trains diverted: The Thiruvananthapuram Central- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Netravati Express is diverted to run via Shoranur, Krishnarajapuram, Dharmavaram, Guntakkal and Wadi on June 24; the Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Mangala Express scheduled to leave Ernakulam on June 24 is diverted via Shoranur, Krishnarajapuram, Dharmavaram, Guntakkal and Wadi ; the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus- Thiruvananthapuram Netravathi Express scheduled to arrive at Thiruvananthapuram on June 24 is diverted to run via Pune, Wadi, Guntakal, Dharmavaram, Krishnarajapuram and Shoranur; the Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Mangala Express scheduled to arrive at Ernakulam on June 24 is diverted to run via Pune, Wadi, Guntakal Dharmavaram, Krishnarajapuram and Shoranur.

The Pune-Ernakulam holiday special scheduled to arrive at Ernakulam on June 25 is partially cancelled between Kozhikode and Ernakulam.

The pairing train, Ernakulam-Pune Express will leave Kozhikode on June 26 to the stoppages and timings as notified.

The Pune-Mangalore holiday special now available at Quilandi to be taken to Kozhikode and run as passenger special on June 24 from Kozhikode to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to the stoppages and timings of the Netravati Express.

List of deceased

Murugesan (Erode), Kuruvila John (Chalakudi), Sahir (New Mahe), Velayudhan Nair (Parappanangadi), Mohammed Ali and Ubaidu (Tirur), Hari Krishnan (Badagara), Mohammed Ashraf (Tirur), Reema (Trikandiyur), Baburaj (Arikulam), C.P.Shaju (Kannur), K.Sugunan (Parappanangadi), S.Radhij (Paropady), Abhirami (Tirur), Divya (Paropady), Jayan (Tirur), Sanjay (Tirur), D.Vaidyanathan (Palakkad), Chinchu (Perembra), Ebrahim (Pattambi), Appukuttan Namboodiri and Dhananjayan (Kozhikodu), Habeeb Rahman (Tirur), Sainudeen (Velancherry), P.Shiju (Tellicherry), Savithri (Vadakkumpadu), Sankaran (Tirur), Bhaskaran (Mahe), P.Mohanan (Vallikunnu), Mohanan (Parappanangadi), Kunhumarakkar (Palakkad), Palthura Vadhyar (Valiyur), Tharur Kothari (Kozhikodu), Venketeshan, Geetha, Aadarsh (Atholi), N.P.Gangadharan (Erode), Mujeeb (Naduvannur), Majumdar (Kozhikodu), Abdul Hameed, Sakkeer Ali (Tavur), Shivamma (Kondampalli), and Mohammed (Tirur).

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