Date:12/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/06/12/stories/2004061207280400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Brake van fire disrupts Jolarpettai-Chennai traffic

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

The brake van of the Chennai-bound Kerala Express in which a fire broke out as the train approached Chennankuppam, near Katpadi, in the early hours of Friday.

CHENNAI, JUNE 11. Fire broke out in the brake van of the New Delhi-bound Kerala Express from Thiruvananthapuram in the early hours of today disrupting through traffic on the Jolarpettai-Katpadi-Chennai section for about four hours.

Passengers, who noticed the fire at 2.45 a.m. when the train was nearing Chennankuppam near Katpadi, raised an alarm. The train was stopped and the passengers in the compartment were disembarked. In the process one woman passenger, Srija of Chenganacherry, who was on her way to Warangal, was injured as she fell down while alighting from the compartment. She was admitted to the Christian Medical College, Vellore, after first aid. Fire engines from Gudiyatham, Katpadi and Vellore battled for three hours to put out the fire. The overhead equipment (OHE) on the section was damaged and it took nearly three hours to repair it, Southern Railway sources said. The train resumed its journey after three hours. The passengers in the affected compartment were accommodated in other compartments. The fire-hit brake van was detached at the Kavanur station.

Enquiry ordered

Following the mishap, the Coimbatore-Chennai Central Nilgiris Express, the Alleppey-Chennai Express, the Mangalore-Chennai Mail, the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Mail and the Coimbatore- Chennai Cheran Express were delayed for about four hours.

The Southern Railway ordered an enquiry into the mishap. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, Pranab Kumar Sen, will hold the enquiry on June 15 at the Katpadi station, according to a railway release.

Accident averted

An accident to the Rameswaram-Tambaram Express was averted following an alarm raised by the track inspection team near Rameswaram.

According to sources, when the train was between Mandapam and Ramanathapuram stations, an inspection team found a crack in the joint of the track at Ariyaman Pillaimadam minutes before passing of the train on the route. The team leader gave information on the crack in the track to the Mandapam stationmaster, Mr. Kalidoss. He passed on information to the driver who stopped the train a few meters away from the spot.

After repairs were carried out to the track the train resumed its journey.