Rayalaseema Express derails

By Our Staff Reporter

KURNOOL, NOV. 18. The engine and three coaches of the Hyderabad- bound Rayalaseema Express derailed between Aspari and Nagarur stations in Kurnool district, 80 km from here, in the early hours of Sunday. Four persons sustained injuries in the mishap. The track to a distance of 500 metres was badly damaged.

According to reports, the train coming from Tirupati went off the rails around 3.10 a.m. near Chigili village. The engine and the three coaches from the rear jumped the rails. It was sheer providence that the derailed loco ploughed through the track up to a distance of 600 metres but did not jump off the track bund. Over 600 concrete sleepers were pulverised by the derailed engine and the twin rails were twisted.

As the three coaches derailed, four passengers traveling in them sustained injuries. Two of them were found to be ticketless hawkers while the remaining two were women. One of them, identified as Mrs. Kalavathi, 27, of Mahabubnagar sustained a head injury. She was shifted to the railway hospital at Guntakal in a relief train along with another sixty-year-old woman who sustained injuries.

The relief mechanism of the railway at Guntakal, the headquarters of the South Central railway division, got activised by 3.30 a.m. as the train driver informed about the mishap. The Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Mr. S.T. Meshram, who was supervising the relief and track repairs, said the derailed train had proceeded to Adoni with 13 coaches leaving behind the three badly damaged coaches. The passengers were shifted to a special train at Adoni at 9.30 a.m. The derailed train would be terminated at Raichur for an inspection.

Mr. Meshram said fracture of one of the rails was the reason for the derailment. It was sheer luck that nothing had happened to 1,000 passengers traveling in 16 coaches, he said. Many expressed surprise at the derailed engine hauling the coaches to a distance of 500 metres without toppling.

A work-force of 500 personnel was deployed to restore the track. The official hoped that traffic in the section would be restored later in the day.

On learning about the mishap, the Kurnool Collector, Mr. G. Sai Prasad, and the SP, Mr. P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, proceeded to the spot. Special buses and medical teams were lined up but were withdrawn on learning that there were no serious casualties. The administration was annoyed over railway officials not informing them soon after the mishap. The police came to know about the mishap through some of the anxious relatives of the passengers around 8.45 a.m.

The Minor Irrigation Minister, Mr. K.E. Prabhakar, and the Alur MLA, Mr. M. Mareppa, visited the accident site.

Several trains diverted

Our Anantapur Staff Reporter writes: Several trains running on the Chennai-Mumbai main line were diverted till Sunday evening due to the derailment of the train.

According to information reaching here, several trains which were to have passed on the section had to be diverted. No. 6011 Mumbai-Chennai Express and No. 2628 New Delhi-Bangalore Express were halted at Ermaras station and were driven back. Later, they were diverted and ran through the Secunderabad- Dronachalam- Guntakal section.

Other trains that were diverted were No.6010 Chennai- Mumbai Express, No. 1063 Dadar-Chennai Express, No. 1014 Kurla- Coimbatore Express, No. 1081 Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express, No.1082 Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express, No. 6009 Mumbai-Chennai Express and No. 6232 Trivandrum-Mumbai Express. They were all diverted and ran on Dronachalam-Secunderabad-Wadi section. Besides, No. 1044 Madurai-Kurla Express was diverted and put on the Hospet-Hubli section.

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